Amnesia: Never Forget
by Arbmaster 16
Summary: No options, no memories, no hope. He sacrificed his life for Reach, only to be sent to hell with no recollection of who he was. He must face the horrors of the 18th century and send his mind to breaking point in order to recover what was lost. Can he run long enough? Or will he be another victim to the Shadow?
1. Welcome to Castle Brennenburg

**Welcome to the first Halo/Amnesia crossover! Firstly, I do not own anything to do with Halo or Amnesia. They belong to their respectful creators and I would like to thank Bungie/343 Industries for creating an awesome sci-fi series, and Frictional Games for making the best horror game I have ever played!**

**Anyway, this started as just a small idea whilst playing Amnesia, ironically, and then became the biggest and most complex story I have ever written. I hope that Jorge is still alive in cannon and that hope also fuelled this story. I will upload a chapter every week just as before (Saturday in this case) and on a quick note, this story will make a lot more sense if you have played Halo: Reach and/or Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Amnesia: Justine. Not o mention I may have to bend the plot slightly to fit in with this fan fiction so if anything seems a bit off from the original story then that's why. As for it being in cannon I thought it would be best not to as figuring this story out to begin with was a massive task.**

**Fun fact! I played Amnesia (and Amnesia: Justine where needed) alongside writing this in order to get as much detail and atmosphere in as I could. In all honesty, I have never been more scared in my life, especially the Suitors... they scare me the most :'(**

**As always constructive criticism is welcome and feel free to R&R, so without further ado, enjoy! :D**

**Arby xx**

**P.S. Big credit to my good friend Ben who did the cover art. He can use Photoshop... I can't**

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**Prologue**

_She was falling further and further away from her friend as she clutched his dog tags tightly. Tears came to her eyes as the Corvette lit up the space around it with astonishing blues and purples. She simply said "Thank you" before she drifted down to the planet below._

_A few minutes earlier, Jorge was seen on board the Corvette alone with his final thoughts. He was staring down at Reach, the beautiful planet he was born and raised on. It was burning just like his passion to save her._

"_It's ok" he said with a soft, gentle tone to his voice. _

"_I may be gone but it was all to save you and those that call you home." He turned away and looked at the floor before taking a deep breath and staring at the button that would end him. Jorge braced himself and in that instant, he was enveloped in a bright light and vanished before Reach herself. _

_Did he ever know his parents? Their names? Their personalities? He may have had only seconds to really think but he always got to a swift conclusion. Where ever his parents were, they were proud of him. If his teammates were still alive, then they would understand. If Six were to ever look up at the stars, their glow would soothe her pain and he would dry her tears. It was at that moment that he broke out of his Spartan shell for the first time and understood the pain of losing it all. An unusual drop formed in the corner of his eye and trickled down his cheek as he thought back to her, Six. He wanted to go back, he wished that he had never pushed that button and told her what he really felt underneath his red visor and behind his hazel eyes. His thoughts halted as he realised that he was still breathing. He could still see, touch, smell, hear and taste._

"_Am I… alive? Jorge… I am Jorge, S-052 of… Noble Team. I belong to… umm Reach of course."_

_He could only stutter in his accented voice as everything around him began to fade._

"_My name? Six… I've got to go back… Six? I am Jorge."_

_Before it all lit up and went black._

**Chapter 1: Welcome to Castle Brennenburg**

The gentle pitter patter of rain could be heard outside as he rolled over in a clump on the floor. His eyes slowly flickered open as Jorge came to his senses. He heaved himself up off of the floor and began to use his legs for what felt like the first time in years. His body ached and his armour almost felt as tired as he was. Jorge began to study himself and his surroundings. He could remember nothing of who he was, where he was or how he got here. This heavy metal plating he wore was a mystery to him and his visor showed information that he no longer understood.

"052?" He whispered within his helmet, making sure no one could hear him… but who would be here to listen? He was in what looked like an abandoned castle. There was no one around in the many corridors that lead off of the main hallway. At the end was a large wooden door, it was obviously the way out and Jorge approached it. As soon as he touched its surprisingly smooth surface, something began to roar at him. The castle violently shook for a few seconds and whatever 'it' was, didn't want him to leave or at least go through that door. He fell on the floor with a noticeable thud but remained oddly calm. He didn't seem to feel anything that would cause his pulse to rise, it was almost as if he knew it was coming and just took it in his stride. He didn't dwell too much on the event and simply began to look around further as he went down the corridor to his left. He strolled onwards calmly until he was startled slightly by a gust of wind that opened the door in front of him. Curiosity got the better of Jorge and he wandered inside for a look around. It was a small, cosy room with long, red drapes hanging from the walls. There was a lit fireplace and a table with 2 chairs and a sofa. Upon the table was an empty green bottle and a tinderbox, an item used to light candles and torches. There wasn't too much else to it and it almost felt like it wasn't part of the castle. The first hallway seemed so cold and unforgiving whilst this one room felt warm and inviting. Jorge, being his usual self, wanted to stay focused on his new 'mission' and didn't bother spending a thought on what the room felt like. He ventured back out and down the hallway. He walked through the door at the end and up some solid, stone stairs. The chandeliers suspended above him faintly lit up the small, grey passage but were enough for him to find his way around. The odd pink liquid was still present as he followed it through the corridor and past a painting which had fallen off of its place on the wall. Jorge seemed settled into this strange situation and only seemed to focus on his surroundings, that is until he found himself on the floor having a panic attack. His muscles grew tense and his bones began to shiver. The armour around him shielded him from the cold but the chills ran through his spine as if he was exposed and wearing nothing at all. It lasted only a few seconds but it was the first time that Jorge had ever felt anything close to fear.

He shook his head and caught his breath as he got back up and looked around to find the same dull corridor that he was walking through. At the end was another rectangular room that was well lit and oddly had a knocked over wardrobe in the middle. He took two steps inside before he froze at the sight of a door at the other end of room opening. There was no wind or any sign of a draft, it just creaked open and echoed deep into Jorge's soul. He decided to venture into the first room on his right and ignore the second one as long as he could. Unfortunately for Jorge, there wasn't much in that room except for some old paintings, a suit of armour which was far different from his own and another tinderbox which he put in his very large backpack. He quickly decided to 'man-up' and take a look in the second room. He took two steps but nothing happened which gave Jorge a very slight feeling of ease until he walked into the centre and all the candles were blown out by a sudden and unexpected gust of wind. He panicked and slammed the door behind him. He held his face against the door listening for footsteps or any other signs of life. There was nothing and he opened the door. He slowly looked around and studied the entire room to see if anything had been changed or moved. Everything even down to the velvet, red curtains were the same and he walked as calmly as he could down the old, stone staircase opposite and left the area through a large crimson door.

The hallway on the other side was well lit by the flames of torches and even had what looked like a flag, hung up on the wall to his left. He felt good leaving that area behind him and proceeded to walk. His loud footsteps echoed through the stone brick walls and the rooms they led to until another ominous gust of wind came from nowhere, opening another door in front of him and blowing out every torch in the area. His breathing began to tremble and the creepy atmosphere of the dark castle was finally beginning to get to him. He could feel a slight headache coming on which he was sure would hinder any progress he was making and therefore tried to distract himself from it. He walked into a small room which was lit up by the exposed sky seeping through some wooden planks. There wasn't much except some empty shelves, a few of which had been knocked over. He gathered the two tinderboxes and turned around to see cockroaches all over the floor!

"_Where did they come from?!"_ Jorge thought in a panic and ran out of the room, dusting off any roaches that were crawling up his legs. He slammed the door shut before leaning against the wall and trying calm himself down.

"Everything will be ok. It's just a few bugs, they can't hurt me." He chuckled to himself and thought that he was just being dramatic with his new surroundings and unknown atmosphere. He shook himself off and marched defiantly through the hallway to another darkened room. Another gust of wind swirled around him but he ignored it and walked straight to a table at the farthest end of the room where a lantern had fallen to the floor. He studied its rusty, copper casing and even figured out that it needed oil to keep its flame alive. There was still some left inside from whoever last used it and decided to take it in case more sneaky gusts of wind came to pay him a visit.

The pink substance led him to another dark corridor. One end had been blocked off by a rock slide which forced him to go left and through an old wooden door. He looked around at the many books that were piled onto shelves, most of which either had text he couldn't understand or no text at all. A pile of boxes revealed a tinderbox, another one was hidden in a wardrobe near a fireplace. They seemed to be everywhere which Jorge was thankful for. The castle suddenly began to shake, causing Jorge to hold on to one of the wooden shelves for support. The mini earthquake subsided and allowed Jorge to continue through another door to find the source of where this strange pink liquid had come from.

He quietly closed the door behind him and took a few breaths before allowing himself to feel somewhat safe. The shelves on the walls around him were filled with glass containers that had unknown chemicals in each one. He didn't have a clue about chemistry and decided not to touch anything he didn't feel was necessary. In-between two shelves was a large, wooden desk which had one lit candle, a pot of oil and a note which was surprisingly written in English. He poured the oil into the lantern and began to read the note:

"22nd of August, 1839,

You are not the first to come here and you are most certainly not the first to forget.

I can only tell you what I told myself and that is to not be afraid. Whether you have chosen to forget or not, fear will only slow you down.

You will not have to worry about Alexander, he is in a doomed afterlife now. Whether or not you have someone out to get you, I cannot possibly know that, but there are some things I can tell you.

You will remember everything in time, just as I did. You must travel to the Inner Sanctum, an area deep within this castle, Castle Brennenburg. There are orbs there, far more powerful than I can describe in words. Their power can help you.

I must warn you however, if you do decide to venture to the Inner Sanctum then you will be hunted. 'The Shadow' is the guardian of those orbs and it will do anything to stop you. Being someone who has experienced the Shadow myself, I can tell you that it is a living nightmare. It will break down the reality around you until it has consumed your body and soul. There is no way to fight it, you can only run… but not forever.

I wish you luck and hopefully you can escape it just as I did.

Your unknown companion,

Daniel."

Jorge was uncertain what to make of the note. He could tell just by looking at his armour that he came from somewhere in the distant future. He wanted to remember but was concerned by this 'Shadow' creature that would hunt him relentlessly. He placed the note in a separate compartment of his backpack and decided that he didn't have any other choice. He had to remember who he was and how to get home. He looked for a way out and found a small lever. Upon pulling it, the bookcase to his right opened to reveal a hidden passage behind it. At the end was another large, crimson door. He took a deep breath and gathered his strength before he went through the door and into the entrance hall.


	2. Remembrance of Fear

**Hey guys, it's Saturday! I don't know about you but it has been a long week for me and I'm just glad it's the weekend. Anyway chapter 2 is here and on an off note, I think Jorge is the best thing ever... just throwing that out there.**

**Hope all of you out there had a better week than me but to lighten the mood, my chameleon says hi, his name is Sage. He also likes Jorge ^.^**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 2: Remembrance of Fear**

He was greeted by nothing but grey. Everything, the walls, the pillars and the stairs were all stone. It seemed like they were afraid to draw attention to themselves in case they got the attention of the wrong person or even distracted anyone who came past from something more important. It was an odd thought and Jorge knew this. Maybe everything was getting to him but he didn't realise it yet and just wanted to keep going. There was rubble everywhere, most likely from the tremors that Jorge had experienced earlier but it was nothing that could block his path.

Before he could venture the several different paths leading from the entrance hall, everything went white and he began to hear voices.

"Commander." An unknown female voice said with an accent.

"So that's our new number six." He could hear himself say in an almost British sounding voice. Was he from somewhere in Britain? He didn't have that answer but the voices continued.

"Kat, you read her file?" Said another male voice.

The same accented voice responded. "Only the parts that weren't covered in black ink." He realised that the voice must have been Kat, whoever she was.

A different male voice began talking to someone over a communications link. Whoever it was must've been of a higher rank judging by the way he addressed him as 'sir' which lead Jorge to realise that all of these people, including him, were in some sort of military which in turn helped explain his armour. Jorge barely paid attention until he heard the slightly static sounding voice on the other side say

"Holland out." The man was called Holland. It wasn't much to go on but it was something. Maybe he was their leader or maybe the guy he addressed as 'Noble 1' was their leader. He had questions but no time to answer as the voices disturbed his trail of thought.

"Lieutenant." Noble 1 said.

"Commander, sir." The lieutenant replied. Jorge knew she was a female by the softened voice.

"I'm Carter, Noble team's leader." Jorge now knew who his leader was.

"That's Kat, Noble 2. Emile and Jorge, 4 and 5." Jorge felt himself being acknowledged and now knew who he was! His name was Jorge and was known as Noble 5 in this Noble team that he was in.

"You're riding with me Noble six." This lieutenant must've been Noble six and was new to the group. Her introduction to them was short but it seemed to trigger something in Jorge that he could not yet understand. He could feel the emotions he felt back then and he felt… warm for some strange reason, he even noticed his spine tingle slightly when Noble six first spoke. He couldn't explain it, at least not yet.

Carter continued. "Not gonna lie to you Lieutenant, you're stepping into some shoes the rest of the squad would rather leave unfilled. Me? I'm just happy to have Noble back up to full strength." He could hear the sounds of chopper blades and could no longer hear Carter's voice. He then heard the choppers take off and over the radio he heard an accented male voice say;

"Welcome to Reach." Before Jorge came back to his senses in the castle.

He had answers but still had questions. What was Reach? A city? Country? Planet? Why did this 'Six' have an effect on him? He remembered back to Daniel's note and returned his focus back on to finding the Inner Sanctum realising that he would find his answers but he would have to work for them first. The hall that led to another exit had 2 pots of oil and 2 tinderboxes, all of which he found and picked up. He looked at the enormous, pale, wooden door and remembered his last experience, but despite his doubts he touched it anyway and the same roar emanated throughout the castle only this time, an unusual red tissue appeared on the door and sealed it tight. He tried to touch it but heard a slight sizzling against his armour and moved away. Whatever it was, was acidic.

He went back the way he came and walked up the stone stairs to his left. Suddenly, he heard a woman's scream come from a hallway to the right of the staircase. He wanted to investigate but Jorge's gut instinct was telling him to stay away, at least for now. Instead he went across the walkway to two doors. One of them was blocked and had a tinderbox sat on one of the stairs leaving his only option to be the one that was straight ahead. Another crimson door lay in front of him and he went through it with confidence to the Archives.

The checkered stone floor seemed to sing back at him whenever his metal boot made contact with it. The room to his right already had its door knocked down with some force and drew Jorge into it. It had a worn out wooden floor, some dull looking walls and a lot of books. The oddly untouched wooden table in the centre had a note which he could see had identical hand writing to the note before. It was written by Daniel and Jorge chose to read it, hoping that it would shed some light on his own situation. Its date said '16th of May 1839' which was well before Daniel came to Castle Brennenburg. It explained how he was in Africa, Algeria to be precise, looking for 'The Tomb of Tin Hinan' or 'the mother of us all'. They couldn't dig until dusk because of the 'unflinching African sun' however, when they did dig, they found a 'sand-covered stone structure' which they were certain was the tomb they were looking for but wouldn't go in deeper until the next day. Daniel hoped to find something to bring back to the British Museum in London and that's where the note ended.

Jorge studied his surroundings again and couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary so he ventured into the room opposite.

The room was very dark and forced Jorge to light up the lantern for the first time. He didn't find much except for a tinderbox and a note written by someone named Wilhelm. He moved on out the door to his right and into another room in front of him. Upon entering the room, an alien-like noise was outside another door to his right. Jorge crouched down and remained still to try and hear any footsteps, again there was nothing. Jorge was beginning to question his own hearing.

"It was just the wind. It's the peace and quiet that's getting me a bit edgy." He put it down to the wind moving a door or a window and approached another desk in the corner before he left the room. There was a tinderbox in the second draw and another note. It was another entry in Daniel's diary detailing his entry into the stone structure he had mentioned before. He described in vivid detail about his surroundings and how he had to keep his men in check as they ventured further. They eventually reached an ante-chamber which was lined with very unique statues. There was a stone slab at the end of this chamber which Daniel ordered to have opened. Once he crawled inside, the slab dropped and left him unable to escape.

Jorge put the note with the others and tried to stay focused on his own situation rather than worrying about Daniel's. He slowly opened the door and peered around the corner. There was nothing but another door in front of him and a dark hallway to his left. He chose the room first, almost feeling repelled to the darkness despite not being scared of it. He closed the door and heard a sudden thud behind him! He jumped around to see dust fly as a book had fallen off the shelf despite there being no wind and nothing near it. He forced himself to believe that it was just a coincidence and gathered the pot of oil and 2 tinderboxes before he swiftly left the room and was back out into the dark hallway.

The door at the end was labelled 'Local History' and was also blocked so Jorge decided to venture the rest of the Archives before he left. He began using the tinderboxes he had found to light candles. He needed to conserve his oil for when he really needed it. He found himself in an enormous rectangular room. He first thought it was a dinner hall until he realised that he was in the Archives, which was where books are stored rather than a place for food and dining.

He strolled slowly down the edge of the run down hall almost as if he was taking it all in when in fact he was just thinking. He was in the military; he was in the thick of war, which most likely meant that he didn't have the time to just get to know himself. His thoughts trailed back to who he used to be. Was he a kind hearted soul or an ice cold tank? He wanted to know more but it wasn't tugging at his conscious, as if it didn't matter. He didn't feel any urgency to regain his memories, he just focused on the here and now and would think about the future when the future came.

As Jorge approached the dark doorway near the end, the same alien noise drilled him back to reality and back on high alert. He backed up against the wall as if on the edge of a sharp cliff and began to slowly side step to the door frame. As he peeked his red visor around the corner, he could see that the left wall had caved in from another rock slide but the right was still stable and clear. At the farthest window he could see a piano, a few chairs and a table with a pot of oil. He gathered the oil and proceeded left where he could see two doors and a hole in the wall in front of him.

Jorge approached the first door labelled 'Floor Plans', which was on his right, and entered. It was a basic room with many different kinds of wood being present in the walls, floor and ceiling and an obvious golden chandelier hanging down as still as the air around it. Finding only three tinderboxes and a pot of oil, he then approached the plans in a hope that he could somehow use them to find his way to the Inner Sanctum, instead, the same white flash occurred and the voices returned.

He could hear Noble 4, Emile, yelling first.

"Move! On your knees, now!" He almost sounded angry but Jorge didn't know why. He then heard himself speak in a very calm voice. It almost sounded as if he was trying to hold Emile back with his words, like keeping a child from a chocolate cake.

"They're not rebels, they're farmers. Look at them."

"Ask them what they're doing here." Carter said in his usual monotone voice. He heard himself speak again, but in a language he couldn't understand. He assumed he was asking them what they were doing here as Carter instructed. The farmer replied in the same unknown language.

Jorge translated the farmer's answers without a hitch.

"Hiding sir. Neighbours were attacked last night. He heard screams. Gunfire. Stopped around sunrise. Says something in the fields… killed his son."

Carter perked up. "Something?"

The accented male voice also perked up and began informing the team over the radio. "Commander be advised I'm reading heat signatures in that structure directly east of your position over?"

"Copy that, get them back inside." Carter replied. Jorge began talking again and assumed he was instructing the farmers.

Jorge then heard the entire team walking before Six spoke to him.

"That's quite the language you've got there. Your Hungarian is impressive Jorge." It was only quick, but Jorge could feel the warmth he felt back then when Six talked to him. Despite it feeling nice, he still couldn't understand why.

"Noble Team, double time it." Carter ordered before Jorge returned to the horrors of the castle.

Part of him wanted to stop and think, but the other thought that it would be a distraction and wanted to keep going. He went with his second half and simply left the room saying nothing. The room opposite him was labelled 'Maps' which led him to believe that he might actually find a map of the castle and more importantly, one that would lead him to the Inner Sanctum.

Just as he was about to enter, he could hear small pebbles begin to tumble, it then grew to a large rockslide just down the corridor. He went back to take a closer look. The enormous rocks had completely blocked the way out and just as Daniel was, he was trapped. Jorge wasn't panicked. He didn't seem like the kind of guy that would get scared easily and would just think rationally about every situation until he found a solution. In this case, he needed to find a way out. Jorge went back to the map room to see what he could find.

Apart from a tinderbox in the top draw of a desk, some maps of Prussia rather than maps of the castle and a note, there wasn't much to it. To his surprise when he picked up the note, his breathing began to quicken. His heart felt as if it was about to burst out of his chest and his eyes slammed shut just as he collapsed to the ground.

"17th of May, 1839. After pounding the unforgiving stone wall for what seemed like an eternity, I realised it was hopeless. I was trapped.

I fell to the ground gasping for air, trying to focus. That's when I saw a faint blue shimmer.

My weakened body was heavy to carry but I managed to push myself toward the enchanting light. It was waiting for me. Enclosed in dark nothingness, I felt myself drawn to the mystic light.

I reached out, closing it in my hands.

The faint glow escaped my fingers and began to spark brightly and spirit me away. Unlocking alien memories of spiralling towers, endless deserts and impossible geometry.

The next thing I can remember is the grating sound of stone being lifted. The voices of the Arabs pulling me to safety, and grasped firmly in my hands were the broken pieces of a most peculiar relic."

He awoke only a few minutes later to find himself still and alone on the hard, wooden floor.

"That voice… wasn't mine." He whispered to himself. He knew it was Daniel's memory but why was he remembering it? He knew how Daniel obtained a relic but why was it relevant to him.

"Maybe it was the same relic that he told me about in his note." He looked in his backpack after picking himself back up and took a second look at the note.

"You will remember everything in time, just as I did. You must travel to the Inner Sanctum, an area deep within this castle, Castle Brennenburg. There are orbs there, far more powerful than I can describe in words. Their power can help you." He read.

"That was the relic. That is the orb I must find in the Sanctum. It is that orb that can return my memories to me and get me out of here." Jorge felt empowered realising he was on the right track. He put the note away and marched confidently out of the room.

He looked around remembering that his escape was blocked until he saw the weakened wall to his left again. He took a deep breath and with one swift punch the small hole turned into an escape route.

Jorge climbed through and found himself in another small library full of books. He had a quick look around and found another pot of oil before he looked deeper. There was a note encased in glass but another punch with his armoured fist shattered it clean and without injury. He read the note. The second page intrigued him. A story about creatures known as 'The Gatherers'.

They were originally soldiers of the so called 'Thirty Years' War' who abandoned their post and were forever tainted and disfigured by their own souls. People described them as 'horrid revenants' and they are rumoured to take living creatures and drag them deep into the woods and are never to be seen again.

Jorge thought the story was interesting but shook it off as an old folk tale used to scare children and to stop them going out at night, nevertheless, he took the note anyway. He began to scan the bookshelves for anything that could help him. One of the books seemed different, brighter than the others and not as worn. He tried to pull it off the shelf but it stopped and began making a ticking noise, like some kind of timer. Jorge looked around some more to see if there were others. He was successful and found two more 'books' and did the same thing to both of them. Once he pulled the third one, the bookcase to his left opened and a hidden room was visible.

The room had a luxury feel to it with its floor tiles, polished wood walls and fancy bookcases. Jorge noticed a desk with a key on it.

"_Every key can unlock something."_ He thought to himself as he picked it up and put in the backpack. Suddenly there was a crash from the other room and the growls of something not human. He instinctively ran for the wardrobe in the corner and hid inside. He began listening but as always, Jorge couldn't hear any signs of life. No footsteps, no more growling, the only thing he could hear was his own rapid beating heart and his much deeper breathing. He let a few minutes pass to let 'whatever it was' move on and to allow himself some time to calm his mind and his body. He eventually opened the wardrobe door and looked to see nothing there. He got up and ventured round the other room to see that the only thing that had changed was the door being open when it used to be blocked. He peered round the door to see 'Local History' written next to it. He knew where he was and thought that now would be a good time to leave.

As he re-entered the same rectangular hall, he heard the same growls of that creature and immediately ducked down behind a nearby piano. He looked around to see, for a few seconds, the creature that had burst in earlier. It was hard to tell exactly what it was but Jorge knew for sure that it wasn't human and it wasn't friendly. Seeing the monster caused his headache to get worse and his body began to tremble. The monster went into the hallway where Jorge needed to go and that made him very nervous. He began to approach, keeping an ear open for any noises that weren't made by him. He took a breath and looked round. Nothing but the empty hallway and one window could be seen.

"_Please don't be there." _He prayed in his mind and began walking back through the hallway towards the exit. After a few steps another alien-like noise emanated from right behind Jorge. He closed his eyes and froze in fear hoping that there was nothing there. He turned his head and saw nothing.

"What the hell was that…?" He whispered gently with a tremble before he turned back around and began walking again. He approached two corridors, one kept going straight and the other turned left. The exit was at the end of the left corridor. As he went to turn he heard a growl come from the room where he found Daniel's first dairy entry about Africa. Jorge backed up and crouched against the wall. He kept looking at the exit door and the other door wondering what to do. His heart began to race as an idea came to his mind. He listened for any other noises but heard nothing and out of nowhere he got up and ran for the exit, not daring to look behind him to see what creature he may have disturbed. He reached the door and slammed it closed as he left. The relief flooded his body and he couldn't have been happier leaving the Archives behind.

Six's Entry #1

July 24th 2552

Today was judgement day. Not really, I mean it was my first day. I met the entire team from Noble's 1-5.

Noble 1, Carter, is their leader. He seems very focused, more so than the others (No offence to them anyway) and seemed to be thankful that I was here.

Noble 2, Kat, is the only other female. I wonder what it's like… having one arm I mean. Yeah, one of her arms is metallic. I also wonder how she lost it but I shouldn't ask questions, at least not yet.

Noble 3, Jun, has the sniper. I'm jealous already. I love sniper rifles myself… I wish I had one. I'm getting off track.

Noble 4, Emile, is very, very quiet. He creeps me out a little with his giant knife. All he was doing was sharpening it against his shoulder armour. He'll be one to keep an eye on just to make sure I don't get in his way and send him on a hissy fit or something.

Last but not least Noble 5, Jorge, he is huge! He is much taller than me or any of the others and his accent… mmmm… I like it. It almost sounds British but from what I've heard he was actually born and raised here on Reach. I bet he has more of a sense of purpose than the others considering this is his home. I wonder what he thinks about all this. I bet the others just see it as a job but Jorge… this must mean something if not a lot to him.

I'm on a Falcon now travelling to some kind of relay outpost. This may sound odd for a war and all but I'm actually excited. It is my first mission with this team so I hope it all goes well.

Talk again soon.

The new Noble Six.


	3. Encounters

**It is another Saturday and I don't know about you guys but my week has been eventful. I miss the calmer side of life already. Anyway fresh from my laptop which my chameleon is currently asleep on (Aww :3) is Chapter 3! Also I'm getting reading glasses! The joys of gaming and writing stories is now taking its toll on me, it was only a matter of time right? Oh well it's not the worst thing... I got to try to be positive right? Hope you guys had a good week and I hope you enjoy ^.^**

**See you next Saturday!**

**Arby xx**

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**Chapter 3: Encounters**

His happiness was short lived when some more of the acidic, red tissue appeared on the floors and walls.

"It's like it's following me." He said. "It must be the Shadow." He didn't have time to dwell on his thoughts and cleared the jump over the pulsating tissue. He went back down the same grey staircase and turned right. There were two doors, one on his left and one on his right. He took the key out of his backpack and took a look at its label. The tag read 'Wine Cellar' which was now his next destination. He turned left to face the brown, iron door and unlocked it. With careful handling and careful footsteps, he went inside and closed the door.

The haunting darkness surrounded him as he ventured into this new unknown territory. He crept down the creaky staircase to see several doors around him. He decided to take a systematic approach by adventuring the right-most door first and working his way round. As he got near the door, he began to hear noises. Cries of pain echoed through the entire cellar forcing Jorge to hide in case they attracted any attention. They soon died down and after a few minutes, Jorge decided to go into the room.

The stench nearly brought tears to his eyes even with his helmet on. The sight disgusted him as limbs and blood littered the now stained wooden floor. He gathered his senses and clenched his stomach while trying to look around. He found another tinderbox and in a separate room on a desk, was a candle, a glass bottle of Aqua Regia which he carefully placed in his backpack and a note from the same guy named Wilhelm. Reading the note wasn't pleasant as it detailed his final words as he slowly and painfully died in the same part of the cellar that Jorge was stood in. With shock, Jorge realised who those limbs belonged to. He didn't hesitate to run back the way he came and slam the door. His stomach was doing backflips and he was near the point of throwing up in his own helmet but was forced to swallow it back down and keep going.

The next room was only a few steps away and Jorge stumbled in and slammed the door behind him. He sat down against the door and placed the lantern next to him. For the first time, Jorge took off his helmet and took a deep breath of 'fresh' cellar air. He looked into his red visor and saw his own face. His once glistening, alert, hazel eyes now looked tired and drained. His soft brown hair was now flat and greasy. He looked older than he was with wrinkles and scars both from previous wars and the stress of this castle nightmare. It was taking its toll and Jorge had no idea how far he would have to go before he would be rewarded with his memories.

He got back to his usual self after a few minutes of rest and put his helmet on a desk in the centre of the room with the lantern next to it. He found a barrel with a few drops of oil and didn't hesitate on draining it. The air was musty and it was a struggle to breathe but Jorge was more interested in the room around him which was dark and damp. He found a table that was knocked over and oddly felt the need to pick it up until he discovered another glass bottle with another chemical. As he read the label which said 'Calamine' and picked it up, the cellar around him began to shake. It was another tremor which caused a heavy barrel higher up, to fall onto Jorge's now exposed head and knock him out instantly.

He had no idea how much time had passed when he finally came round again. All he knew was that it was dark and the exit was blocked. His head was pounding from the impact and his body was shaking from the cold of lying on a stone floor for an extended amount of time. He dragged his heavy body nearer to the door and used a wooden support beam to heave himself up and light a torch with a tinderbox. Jorge studied the floor and found both the lantern and his helmet, thankfully unscathed by the small earthquake. He put it back on and carried the lantern without the need to light it. Support beams and large rocks were covering the door but Jorge was confident that he could move them out of the way with enough force. He gripped the biggest rock with both of his large, armoured hands and began to use his body weight to pull it out of the way. He continued to do the same with the other rocks and two support beams until the door was clear. Jorge seemed somewhat amazed at his own strength, he was sure that being in the military had given him that and was even thankful.

As he left the room he remembered his systematic approach to how he was going to search the wine cellar. This gave him some hope that he could still remember and that he wouldn't forget his memories again if he were to get them back.

The next room was directly opposite the stairs or 'the way out' as Jorge liked to think. He entered the room and shut the door behind him, giving him that feeling of 'nothing can hurt me if the door is closed'. He approached another desk at the far end with another chemical on it, this time 'Cuprite'. He picked it up and put it away, the strange alien noise he heard in the Archives could be heard just outside the door.

"_It followed me?!"_ Jorge thought as he crouched down near some barrels but again, the noise was a one off and nothing could be heard afterwards. He listened through the door before he opened it just to be sure it wasn't sitting there waiting for him. The outside was clear and he snuck to the next door be careful of any noise he made. As he reached for the handle of the next door, something behind it began to move. He crouched back down and listened. A faint growl was heard and some glass was broken. There was something in there and Jorge disturbed it. That idea alone was enough for Jorge's instincts to tell him that going through that door was not a good idea, so he left the door alone and proceeded to the next one.

Luckily, the fourth door was clear however footsteps could be heard coming from the floor above. Unless the ceiling was weaker than he thought, Jorge assumed that he was safe from anything above him… as long as he kept quiet. The room he entered was again dark and damp. He decided to go left first to try and find anything useful. He came to a shelf with a peculiar bottle which peaked Jorge's curiosity. He put it away and he heard a growl… a familiar growl. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a black figure. Standing there.

He crouched and stayed as still as he could against the wall. He tried to not look at it but he wanted to familiarise himself with its appearance in case he ran into it again in the future. His mind was suffering and the room around him began to move as his vision couldn't take in the sight. Jorge thought that he was going to pass out from the tension of thinking that it could see him but what he didn't realise was that its back was turned. Jorge couldn't stay still any longer and began crawling across the floor to the door he came in from. As he moved forward, so did the monster. It began walking away and turned the corner, being out of Jorge's sight. He was both relived and nervous, not knowing whether it had left or if it was coming back. He had to go the way the monster went, seeing as that was the only area he hadn't explored yet. He took several very deep breaths and moved forward being even more careful about any noises he made. He saw a pile of boxes in the near distance and a hole in the ceiling. Could whatever was above him jump down? Rocks began falling from the gap, giving Jorge a bit of a jump but he moved away swiftly and searched the rest of the cellar before he left. He found one tinderbox amongst the masses of wine and another chemical at the farthest end. 'Orpiment' was written on it and Jorge placed it with the other three. He got up and walked out of the room via the nearest door and back up the stairs. He didn't look back once and was sure to never go back again.

What was once a clear staircase was now stained with more of the Shadow's red tissue. Jorge had to manoeuvre carefully around the flesh so that he wouldn't get burnt. He gradually made it to the door opposite the wine cellar labelled 'Laboratory'. He ventured through, surprised the door was open.

"That has to be where these chemicals go." It felt good to speak instead of breathing heavily and Jorge had an unusually good feeling about this room.

Another creaky, wooden staircase and the same haunting atmosphere was present in the Laboratory. Jorge didn't seem to mind it much. Was he getting used to it? The smell was a mix of smoke and other unknown things but he was glad that his helmet would shield him from most of it. He could see a pile of rocks at the bottom to his right and could hear the Shadow's roars behind them. He glanced for a second and then proceeded left into the main lab area. Among a pile of boxes he found two tinderboxes and then went to the right side of the room. Before he could search the draws of another wooden desk, the bright white returned as he remembered more of his previous life.

He didn't hear voices to begin with, only the sounds of jets flying nearby and a loud boom in the distance a few seconds later. He then heard himself walk and talk.

"Beautiful ain't it?" He said despite not knowing who he was talking to. "Someone should take a picture." He continued. "Nice work by the way."

"I aim to please." The same chill went down his spine again and he could feel himself heating up. He knew he was talking to Noble Six and not just because of her voice. He knew he was near her and his heart knew it to as it began to race. His mind felt somewhat irritated. Why did he feel this? Was there a reason? Before he could think more he heard a voice come over his radio.

"Five, Six. Get down to the science wing. Dr Halsey wants a debrief and Command says were all hers."

Jorge felt himself twitch at the name of Halsey.

"Repeat? Sounded like you said 'Halsey'?"

"I did." Carter replied.

Jorge confirmed. "Copy that, on our way. Don't need Command to tell me. Been all hers half me life."

He then heard more footsteps of him and Six walking before he returned to the eerie atmosphere of the Laboratory.

He thought about Six and got lost in his thoughts for about a minute before he began remerging through the desk. He found a tinderbox in the top draw, some unexplainable cylinder on the other side and a note and a chemistry pot on the top. Jorge read the note and a light flickered on in his brain. The note says that four chemicals can create a powerful acid. The chemicals were Calamine, Orpiment, Cuprite and Aqua Regia. He had all four of those from venturing in the wine cellar! He quickly shoved the note in the backpack with the others and went to the chemistry table to get to work mixing the chemicals. He lit a candle next to him and began pouring one chemical into each glass container. Whilst doing so, Jorge heard the Shadow again and a crash in the next room. The pace which he was working at suddenly quickened as he continued his work. He then put the chemistry pot underneath the outlet where the acid would flow out. He turned on the main burner and the four separate burners above the chemicals afterwards. The chemicals mixed together perfectly and out the pipe came the aluminous, green acid. His work was done and as he began leaving the lab, he found out what caused the crashing noise. The stairs had collapsed, forcing Jorge to get creative and use a plank of wood to help him climb up and out of the Laboratory.

The scene was astonishing. There was barely any stone brick showing because of how much the Shadow had taken its effect. It was impossible for Jorge to get past without getting burnt. He hopped across it trying to make as little contact as possible but the flesh on the walls began to burn his arms even underneath his armour. When he made it out, he fell to his hands and knees as his right arm bled. He looked through his backpack as quick as he could to see if he had any kind of medical tools. He found the strange purple bottle which he picked up in the wine cellar and began to read the label. 'Laudanum: A medical bracer to improve health and help heal wounds.' The label read.

"Perfect." Jorge said as he applied it to his arm. He sighed with relief as the pain began to disappear and began to head to the only door he hadn't been to yet. It was down some more stairs and through another hidden door that Jorge found some more of the Shadow's tissue completely blocking his path. He looked at it and remembered the acid.

"Hmm… I was going to use this as a weapon in case that thing came back. I guess I don't have a choice." Jorge carefully got the acid and began pouring it onto the red flesh. As predicted, it began to melt away until it cleared the path completely and allowing Jorge access into the Refinery.

The path heading deeper was the darkest Jorge had been in. His lantern was a must to make it through. After a minute or two of simply walking through the dense darkness, it opened up into a large, cold room where enormous barrels stored more wine for refining. There was another room opposite with more large barrels and some doorways which Jorge was eager to explore. His confidence was shattered into pieces however when the same black figure came from nowhere and walked across the doorway. Jorge was forced to put out the lantern and duck down. With no cover, he prayed that the creature would not spot him. After about twenty tense seconds, Jorge heard a door slam and assumed the monster had left the area. He remained crouched just in case and went into the room on the far left. He topped up the oil in his lantern and began to search. Only a pot of oil could be found amongst some books on a shelf and Jorge continued through a door to his right. More bottles of wine and Laudanum were found along with another door. Jorge wasn't even near it when a sudden and strong gust of wind blew it open violently and left Jorge feeling very exposed. He decided to read a note he found on a small wooden table to focus his mind on something else. The date surprised him, '22nd of June, 1839'. Jorge knew that Daniel liked to document his findings often and Daniel even feared that his memory would fail him. He was now back in England with the broken stone orb. He explained how the 'pieces wouldn't fit together as if not from the same object'. He thought that he had imagined it all and that there was never a complete orb to begin with. That statement made Jorge think. Was he dreaming? Maybe he was at home asleep and all this was just some crazy nightmare. If that was the case, then he hoped that he would wake up soon.

There were remains of the Shadow littered all over the refinery and Jorge was anxious that more tremors were to follow. He slowly made his way into a long room with a small dining table. There were 3 doors at the far end with the left one being blocked. The right one lead into the large barrel room that Jorge was previously in which left the door that was directly in front of him. He found nothing but a tinderbox and decided to go back upon having a very bad feeling about the next room and the fact that the door was open. To his right, he noticed a small pile of boxes with some light shining through. Upon moving the boxes Jorge found another way into the back room but was accompanied by the ever present Shadow's roar and another slight tremor. He found tinderboxes, a barrel of oil and a mechanism that opened up another path which lead further down. It was jammed and Jorge had to follow the rope along the ceiling until he found the small plank of wood that had jammed it. He reached up with ease and broke the plank in half thus freeing the rope and allowing him to go further underground.

His first sight was a lot of glossy flesh lining the walls. It didn't help his headache and neither did the stench. He could only walk past it until he got to the door that led to the 'Cellar Archives'.

Six's Entry #2

July 26th 2552

These past few days have been hectic. Firstly, it wasn't rebels, the Covenant have found Reach and Jorge isn't happy about it. I can tell that he's worried just by looking at him but we are doing all we can right? Anyway we went to ONI Sword Base today. It was under attack and we had to clear out some covvies from an AA gun and a comms relay. All in all, nothing too difficult.

There was a Corvette which me and Jorge had the pleasure of watching burn and fall into the ocean. It was spectacular I will tell you that! We had a quick chat about Halsey which was appropriate since we were all going to meet her. I've heard about her a lot and how she created the Spartan programme but I'll be honest she is intimidating, she's like Carter but with a much sharper edge. I got the impression that she didn't like us, except for Jorge who she knew (probably from training/raising him).

I'd better get ready, Jun and I are heading out on a reconnaissance mission later tonight. Should be fun, I finally get my own sniper rifle!

Noble Six out.

P.S Really warming up to this name, might just call myself it from now on.


	4. Reflections and Shadows

**Not an eventful week for me so therefore I don't have much to say :/ I hope you guys are enjoying it so far and there is more to come next Saturday! For now though, here's Chapter 4. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 4: Reflections and Shadows**

It was another stone hallway. Jorge looked around and thought for a second.

"Everything is stone here and everything uses fire. My suit uses electricity which hasn't even been discovered yet. What year am I from?" He sighed. "I want to go home." Jorge whimpered. He had never felt homesickness before in his life. He couldn't even remember where he was from but he knew he didn't belong here. His spirits were going down fast as Jorge began to walk. Suddenly, everything went black! The Shadow's roars shook the hall around him before Jorge opened his eyes and found the cellar Archives flooded with water!

"What!?" Jorge yelled. He jumped onto a crate only to hear footsteps in the water. Jorge wasn't in the water. He looked ahead of him to see the water splashing and something walking up to him. He panicked thinking that this was the end of him before it stopped at the edge of the crate. Jorge soon realised that whatever was in the water couldn't touch him as long as he was stood on something. He began to leap from box to box with ease until he made it into a room where a lever was placed on the wall.

He didn't even think about it. Jorge immediately pulled the lever and ran from box to box trying to avoid falling into the water wherever possible. He could hear a ticking noise similar to the one in the Archives which meant there were either more levers to pull or he had a timer before something closed. He danced down the hallway and saw a door to his left, but he was in too much of a hurry to get out and had no time to explore any rooms. The water monster was fast approaching him as Jorge turned left and saw an iron gate slowly descending. He picked up his pace almost not caring whether he fell in or not. The gate was getting low and it came over Jorge that he would have to crawl under it to escape. He had no time! He jumped into the water and crawled as fast as he could with the creature hot on his tail. Without warning, he felt something grab his foot while the gate was still descending above him. He used all his force to kick the monster away and pulled the rest of his leg through just as the gate crashed to a standstill.

Despite the monster behind him no longer moving, he could still hear footsteps and instinct told him to get onto the box left of him. He grabbed a pot of oil which was on the box amongst some human limbs and looked up to see more splashes of water coming his way.

"There are two?!" He yelled in frustration and threw a human arm to the other side of the water filled room. Out of nowhere, the monster changed its direction and went towards where the arm had landed. Jorge could hear the creature munching down on the flesh and bone and realised that this was the perfect distraction. He ran through the water as fast as he could towards another gate on the far left side of the room and jumped onto another large crate. There were more human remains which Jorge happily used to distract the beast and give him some more time. The gate in front of him had a wheel next to it which Jorge needed to turn in order to open it. He placed one of the lighter boxes in front of it for him to stand on whilst he opened the gate but the hungry creature was more intelligent than Jorge had imagined and knocked the side of the box causing Jorge to fall into the water.

The monster began to scratch and claw at his armour, a lot stronger than he thought but Jorge punched and kicked back with all the force he had left in him. One hit stunned the beast for a few seconds giving Jorge enough time to get back onto the crate and out of the monsters reach. He could feel that he had taken a beating but didn't have time to get any Laudanum. Instead, Jorge threw an entire torso as far as he could to send the monster away. Jorge then hopped back onto the box and continued turning the wheel. As soon as it was high enough, Jorge crawled underneath and ran through the wooden door ahead, slamming it behind him. He tried to open the iron door that sealed his escape but it was locked. He looked around at the shelves and found a hollow needle, which he could use to pick at the lock. Jorge was successful and opened the door with no trouble. He entered the next area with a familiar feeling of relief, but he wasn't done yet.

The Archive Tunnels were also flooded and what was worse was that the Shadow was everywhere. All over the walls and ceiling it had clearly made its presence known. Jorge crouched and moved slowly trying to be silent in case another water monster was in the vicinity. He turned right to a door and carefully passed through, but it wasn't quiet enough. Another water monster could be heard behind him and with nothing to stand on, Jorge had no choice but to run.

He slammed every door behind him as he went through but the creature was relentless and burst each door down with ease. He could hear it screeching as it chased after him and burst through a pile of boxes in anger while Jorge simply leaped over them to get through the next door. He could feel the weight of the water making his legs ache but he was forced to ignore it since death was not an option. More piles of floating boxes made Jorge trip but he didn't fall. The creature saw this as an opportunity and picked up its pace. Suddenly, Jorge could see a heavy door up ahead which meant it was the way out. He used all of his energy to reach it and get through without being caught by the monster again. He used his body weight to close the door and the monster was forced to give up its pursuit and let Jorge go.

"I am never… going near water… again." He said out of breath and used this opportunity to rest and treat his wounds with Laudanum.

He tried to sleep before moving forward even if it was for only half an hour. He needed his strength to keep him going as he worried that the worst was yet to come. The water monster had made obvious scratches in his armour but not enough to make it a liability. He got up and stretched his limbs before he put his backpack on and went up the well-lit staircase in front of him. The room at the top had Jorge in awe. It was so bright and peaceful that he felt all his worries wash away with the gentle running water in the fountain. A magnificent chandelier lit the whole room beautifully and the white light coming through the gleaming windows made it feel as if heaven had taken him and he could finally rest in peace.

He began to explore with no worry of anything hostile showing up. He first went to the fountain and took his helmet off. He cupped water in his hands and splashed it over his face, repeating the motion several times.

"It's the closest thing to a shower I'm gonna get." He said and chuckled to himself. This was the best mood he had been in since waking up here and he wanted to enjoy every second of it. He placed his helmet back on and turned away from the fountain. To the left of the stairs was a small chest with two tinderboxes and a pot of oil. He put them in the backpack and even reorganised it to make sure he was properly prepared. A small, gentle gust of wind blew a door open to Jorge's far right and he wanted to see what was in there first despite part of him not wanting to leave.

He found a door with a cog on it. Unfortunately it was locked so he went to take a look at the elevator but it wasn't functioning. Jorge sighed at the bad luck but took it in his stride and went to the area opposite of the elevator room. He went down some small stairs and came to a door that led to Storage. As he went through the door, he could feel his gut telling him that he would regret ever coming in here.

The room was silent. Darkness shrouded everything within its grasp and even though the dark is one of nature's undisturbed forces, this felt unnatural and wrong. Despite the muggy atmosphere, Jorge didn't bother crouching and walked straight ahead. He gathered a tinderbox whilst moving to the room on his left. He closed the door again, it was now second nature to him. The incredibly good mood from the room before was the only thing providing Jorge with confidence although he didn't know it. The room had three tinderboxes and part of a carpenter's drill. He picked up the piece and as he put his backpack away, the growl returned. This time it felt closer than ever. It felt as if it was right outside and the creature knew exactly where he was. He cut off his lantern in a heartbeat and hid amongst some barrels, waiting for the monster to pass. Surprisingly, it caught Jorge off guard so much that he whimpered at the sounds of it breathing nearby which is a sign of fear that Jorge had never expressed before. He knew this wasn't a nightmare. He knew it was real and it was definitely hunting him. Thankfully, it moved on not even bothering to look in the room where Jorge was hiding. The intelligence of the monster was in question, if it was looking for Jorge then it wasn't doing a very good job but he didn't want to jinx it… just in case.

He left the room in some comfort knowing the creature was gone for now. He went forward and took a look to his left to see a pitch black hallway.

"…Uh, I don't think so." He said bluntly and moved on. A sign above read 'Equipment' and Jorge thought that it would be a useful area especially to find the missing parts of this drill. The darkness could only be described as never-ending when he ventured down more creaky, wooden stairs. A door to his right provided him with some relief that this room and its darkness did have an end. Piles of unused bricks littered the cold, stone floor along with a single tinderbox and a note on a table in the corner. It described an explosive that Alexander used to clear a flood drain. It got Jorge thinking. Explosives would be good weapons against the abomination that was after him and without his trusted pot of dangerous acid to accompany him, Jorge felt a little vulnerable within his green, metal suit.

He continued his search in an almost professional manner, not letting any fear or doubt get to him and not allowing himself to think about his previous life. He had switched to his 'military mode' and stayed deadly focused on his mission. This part of storage was quiet, allowing Jorge to search the rooms without any halts. Now he had a complete drill and an explosives mixture, which meant he had no other choice but to go down the blackened hallway that seemed to pierce his soul.

He marched on, trying to ignore any voices he thought he was hearing. The darkness felt more like an infestation rather than a natural occurrence and his lantern felt like the only shielding he had. Part way down the hall, Jorge was forced to stop when huge boulders blocked his path. He remembered the explosive mixture that he made earlier.

"Oh come on. Another potential defence from these creatures and I have to use it on something else… fine but only because I have to get through here." He finally agreed with himself and carefully placed the mixture down next to the blockage. He got some distance before he picked up a small pebble and threw it at the jar. It hit with a *tink* before it began to rumble and Jorge began to run. Suddenly, it went all quiet before a large *boom* echoed through storage and was powerful enough to propel Jorge against a wall even at a distance. He moaned in pain as his spine ached but he knew he had to keep going.

"That explosion was bigger than I expected. That is going to get _something's_ attention. I don't like this." He said to himself, trying to keep himself sane. He moved through the remains of the rock and there was a very dark hallway that led to a room on his left. As much as he wanted to, Jorge decided that it was best not to light any candles or torches. If the _thing_ was to return then he would have to use the darkness to hide himself and his bulky, green armour. As he ventured onward, he remembered the tranquillity of the Back Hall and its serenity. He yearned for that same feeling now but knew his prayers would go unanswered. He scanned the room and noticed two doors to his right. The first one had some headless pig corpses which gave off an awful stench, there was a tinderbox on a shelf and a pot of oil hidden amongst some barrels. Jorge then heard the cries of a little girl in the room next door and went to have a look but as he opened the door, he got a nasty surprise.

He opened the door to see the monster's face staring back at him. The image was gruesome with its hanging eye, its distorted jaw and skin that looked to be stretched and out of place. It burned a hole in Jorge's mind that disturbed even the deepest parts of him. He had no time to try and absorb the horror and get his mind around how such a monstrosity could live, he had to run. His first instinct told him to go into the pig room and hide behind the barrels. That is exactly what he did. He closed the door quickly but quietly and waited in cold shivers for the monster to pass. He could hear its growls as it walked past the door but again it didn't enter and left. Jorge took his time catching his breath, he wasn't eager to leave the room but knew he had to eventually. He moved silently through the night and was hyper aware of everything around him. He came to some wooden stairs that he tried to keep quiet on, but due to his weight, they creaked anyway. As he approached an opening, he was suddenly jumped by some hanging chains and a fire that lit up all on its own.

"Fuck!" He yelled. "Seriously? Pull it together Jorge come on, you're just getting paranoid." He tried to reassure himself but he knew deep down that that scared him half to death. He went into the room on his right and thoughts ran through his head. His emotions were definitely more noticeable since this whole thing began and he would react to things… 'normally' rather than stepping back and rationalising. If this is what feeling emotion felt like, then he wasn't enjoying it so far.

He found a note explaining the usage of some rods for the elevator if one should go missing. Next to it were two rods, one blue and one red. He put them in the backpack knowing that he would definitely need them for the elevator he found earlier but he still needed a key for the Machine Room, that was his next goal but first he had to get out of here. He went to open the door when he heard growling outside. It began to bash of the door hearing Jorge's movements and he ran to the back of the room and hid behind a large chest. He stayed as quiet as he could as he quivered in fear. The creature searched the room for about a minute before it left to patrol the halls outside. Jorge debated leaving knowing that it would come back since it knew he was there but he couldn't be a sitting duck forever. His headache grew more apparent whenever there was a monster around, which greatly hindered his ability to think clearly and concisely, therefore, making his chances of escape that little bit more of a 'pain in the ass' in Jorge's words.

He listened intently despite his head pain and could hear no footsteps or growls. He remained crouched and walked quickly out of the room and up against the wall to his left. Suddenly, he could hear the growls getting louder as the creature approached. Jorge remained deadly still and silent as the creature walked past and didn't notice Jorge next to it. He then started walking again but didn't notice a pebble near his foot and kicked it down the wooden stairs. The monster quickly turned around and began to chase Jorge back the way he came. He couldn't think clearly! He just ran! He kept running until he saw the door to the pigs again and tried the same strategy of hiding behind the barrels. He ran in, slammed the door and vaulted himself over the barrels and crouched as low as he could. Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours. He thought it would never go away and he would be stuck in storage forever. Someone must have heard his prayers and without warning, the creature left the area entirely. Jorge let out a huge sigh of relief as his heart was once again comfortable inside his chest.

He walked casually out of the room and back towards the rock slide but he was still wary of his surroundings. The Shadow let out a roar above the rock slide which made Jorge feel very uncomfortable. He feared that the noise would attract the monster to his location. His fears became reality. He ascended the creaky, wooden steps only to see a monster in the hallway staring back at him. He turned on his heel and ran to some barrels in a dark corner. He peered over the barrels but couldn't see the monster anywhere. He played it safe and waited for a good five minutes before he made a move. He walked and listened but both the hallway and the main room were clear. He wanted to get out and made a bolt for the exit.

"Never again." He said in relief. He re-entered the Back Hall but the feeling of safety was a lot less noticeable. He couldn't stop shivering. It seems the experience in storage had affected him more than he thought and his mind knew it… but he had no choice in the matter. He had to press on if he had a hope of getting out of here alive and that meant getting the elevator working. He went up the fancy staircase to see two doors. One led to the 'Study' and the other to the 'Guest Room'. He had to pick which one to go through first despite his fears telling him to give up.


	5. The Only Way is Down

**Twas the chapter before Christmas... nearly. This is the last Saturday before Christmas though so it kind of makes sense. Anyway as per usual here's chapter 5 with more Jorge ^.^**

**Also I would like to wish you all a very happy Christmas and Sage (the chameleon) does to ^.^**

**Seasons greetings and I'll see you all next week! Enjoy!**

**While I'm here I would like to ask something of you guys. In your opinion, do you think this story should have a good or bad ending? Or even both if you like? I have so many endings in mind for this and I want to know what you guys think. Let me know in a review or something, I would really appreciate it. Thanks ^.^**

**Arby xx**

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**Chapter 5: The Only Way is Down**

Jorge stumbled through the door furthest away from him, which led to the Study. It had a very similar atmosphere to the Archives and gave Jorge the shivers once more. It seemed to be more of a luxurious place with its polished, wooden walls and exquisite carpets along with fancy paintings that Jorge was certain must've cost a fortune. Despite there being lit candles on every wall, the halls were still rather dark, a characteristic that seemed to be shared by every room in the castle.

He could only scavenge a few tinderboxes from the rooms littered with old books before he went further down the hallway to a line of windows. He saw out of the corner of his eye a pot of oil and was incredibly thankful since his current supply was running low. As Jorge picked it up, he heard the Shadow roar from outside and its vibrations caused the window in front of him to weaken and crack. He jumped back thinking the Shadow would burst through the window but it just left him alone… for now. He wanted to investigate the window to see if it was breakable but figured that he should search the room behind him first. The sight made his jaw drop. There was blood all over the tables and saws everywhere. There was even a dog stood up in the corner that had been sawn apart and sewn back together. Jorge couldn't look at it as his stomach began to turn. He found a note on the edge of the table in the centre. Jorge barely understood any of the 'technical' talk but it was something to do with torture and something that the brain produces while under extreme stress. He took the note anyway and went into the next room. There was nothing of interest except for an odd painting of a white haired man and a note next to it which was linked to the previous note but it went over Jorge's head as he simply shrugged his shoulders and searched some drawers.

"Nothing but a tinderbox and ugh! A pile of bones?!" Jorge jumped back in shock as a skull and some long bones fell out of the side door. He looked away and saw the painting he looked at had changed from a normal looking man to a very disturbing one. Its features seemed not of this world and burned Jorge's eyes as he ran out of the room and back to the damaged window. He leant on it and caused the window to fall apart. Oddly, a tinderbox was on the outer ledge which Jorge wanted to pick up. He looked to his right to see a light coming from a few windows away. To get to it, he would have to hop from ledge to ledge which was not one of Jorge's strengths; nonetheless, he attempted it anyway. He tried looking into each window as he passed but it was just the hallway until one of them led to a separate room that looked like it had been broken into already. He searched around, not caring about the noise he made. He found oil, two tinderboxes a note on how to use the elevator and the last rod for the elevator's machinery. Jorge felt contempt with his search and proceeded back the way he came and out of the study with no fuss.

The back hall, which was once a peaceful area of safety, had become part of Jorge's nightmare. The Shadow had begun to appear in the corners and the fountain he once cleaned in was now entirely filled with blood! He felt like he trusted this one room and was betrayed. Jorge felt hurt and saddened as he went into the Guest Room.

The knocked over drawers and thrown about papers told Jorge that this place had clearly been robbed. He didn't know why but his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar white light and the memories of his former team.

There were no voices to begin with, only the sounds of some kind of chopper that he was sat in. He then heard Six's breathing out of nowhere, they were sharp and quick as if she had just run a marathon. He suddenly felt tingles run up his right arm and his hand tighten. He knew he was holding her hand but it was to save her life and nothing more. He was beginning to understand the reason for his nausea and the tingles through his body.

"Get us out of here!" Carter suddenly ordered. "Control, this is Noble 1. Spire 1 is green and you're free to engage. Have a nice day."

A voice on the comms replied. "Copy that Noble 1. Be advised all ground units, frigate 318 heavy is inbound and MAC rounds _have_ been authorised."

This alerted Jorge. "MAC rounds? In atmosphere?"

"One way to get their attention! Hang on to your teeth people!" Carter yelled back to him. Roaring engines could be heard flying past and a boom echoed. Jorge felt good. Maybe it was a victory or maybe it was just Six being near him again. Without warning another loud noise emanated through the skies and Jorge felt startled and troubled.

"No…no somebody tell me this ain't happening!" He felt pain very close to his heart as if someone very close had just died.

"UNSC frigate Grafton, do you copy?" Ordered someone on the comms.

"Grafton is dust! We need to get out of here!" Yelled Carter. Jorge felt ill, very ill and even though the vision had ended the same feeling was still present in his stomach.

He again decided to distract himself by clearing up some of the mess whilst scavenging for anything useful. There was some Laudanum, oil and tinderboxes along with some notes about Daniel retrieving the last of Herbert's things and a crowbar. He remembers Daniel writing about finding the orb and taking it home to London, but Herbert states that he recovered an orb to the surface as well. Jorge raised an eyebrow and began to wonder if there was more than one orb or if Daniel had imagined his own. He put the notes away and went to the closet door which wouldn't open due to a broken lock. He had to, yet again, use a potential weapon for something other than defending himself. The crowbar broke as the door swung open and Jorge sighed at his continued bad luck.

He shut the door behind him for a bit of security as he rummaged through some more messy drawers and opened wardrobes. He found a third note and it detailed how Daniel suddenly remembered how the orb was put together and joined the pieces perfectly. It also said that the orb was on his table but Jorge remembered there being nothing but a crowbar and no sign of any orb.

"Maybe that's why his room was robbed. Someone or something wanted the orb." Jorge pondered.

A painting to his left suddenly leaned slightly to the right and as Jorge tried to straighten it out, he found a hidden glass container with a key inside of it. He smiled as the tag read 'Machine Room'. He went to check the second wardrobe before he left and heard a loud bang from outside.

"Ah shit!" He muttered under his breath as a familiar growling was heard in the other room.

He quickly went into the closet and shut the door. He remained very still and listened. The growls were coming from outside the door until it began to knock it down. Jorge held his breath and tried not to make any noises as his body began to tremble. His eyes were closed and his heart was almost bursting out of his chest from the fear of the monster finding him. Fortunately for Jorge, the monsters searching skills weren't improving as it didn't check any of the wardrobes and simply left, closing the door behind it. He couldn't stop shaking as he slowly made his way out of the wardrobe and to the exit of the Guest Room. He even cowered like a small puppy, something Jorge had never done in his entire life. It was all getting to him and he knew it very well.

He came back to the back hall and went downstairs ignoring the now present torso outside the Guest Room door. He had a continuous blank expression behind his visor and didn't allow himself to think or wonder about anything. He got the key he found and unlocked the Machine Room.

There seemed to be a golden tint to this area. It was like an obstacle course with all the metal pipes winding about the corridors. Jorge wanted to get to work and bring his sanity back. He went into the room ahead of him to begin and after reading a note about Daniel feeling responsible about Sir William Smith's death, he fiddled with the steam controls until it was flowing smoothly. First two down, next three up and the last one down again. He went back and down some stairs and into the next door he found. There was another of Daniel's entries, this time it explained how he wrote to many people looking for answers. The only letter he received back that interested him was from Alexander, the baron who lived in Castle Brennenburg.

"_That explains how he came here."_ Jorge thought feeling himself relax a little in the quiet atmosphere of the Machine Room. He found another machine with three holes. Each had a shape above it. One, a circle. Two, a triangle and three, a square. He looked at the three rods after getting them out of his backpack. The blue one read 'Trinity Steam Rod', the red one read 'Four-phase Amplitude Rod' and the green one read 'Flow Cycle Rod'. Jorge thought hard about it but the answer was simple. 'Tri' means three and a triangle has three sides. 'Four-phase' is the square with four sides and 'Cycle' is a process that will keep repeating or 'going round and round' therefore making it a circle. Jorge of course being a 'get the job done' kind of guy, didn't think of any of that and simply used the power of trial and error until the machine came to life by blowing steam at him. He then ventured lower into the main part of the area where the bulk of the elevator's machinery lived. He studied it and noticed some cog wheels were missing which he looked for and carried back. As he carried them on his shoulder, one of them attached itself to his back as if he was magnetic. He soon realised that it was his armour and put the lantern on his back making his second hand free. He carefully placed the cog wheels until they fit snug within each other. He pulled the switch but the machine failed to start. He looked in a small dark room to find a barrel with a little oil and a lot of coal next to it. He carried three chunks of coal to an open hatch and put them inside. He pulled the lever next to it and a flame emanated from inside. He pulled the main lever and the machine roared into life!

He felt so much better now he had made a lot of progress and was about to run back to the elevator until he discovered another note. Everyone around Daniel was dying… horribly, and he was realising that something was after him. The shock of it all forced his hand and he had to trust the baron with what he says. Jorge was saddened by the events and even began to hope that it all got better for him just as he hoped it would get better for himself. He began to move towards the exit when the Shadow suddenly showed itself on the floor and on the walls. Its roars emanated and the pipes rattled around him. Jorge took the hint instantly and ran to the door with little getting in his way. He came to the back hall for the last time and it all went black. He feared that the water monster had returned but instead, the Shadow had taken over the entire back hall leaving the only exit to be the now functional elevator. There was no going back for him now, it was either go down or die here. He picked the obvious and proceeded into the elevator and pulled the lever. It creaked into life as he began to descend. Jorge felt uncomfortable being in such an enclosed space. He thought that he never liked elevators much, not that he could remember. A sudden jolt stopped Jorge from pondering further and the Shadow appeared once again in front of him. He grew angry at the way it was just teasing him, only showing up to hinder his progress and slow him down. He punched the flesh on the wall, forgetting about its acidic qualities. It burned through his armour and onto his hand. He roared in pain as the elevator broke down and began to free fall. Jorge passed out and all he could hear was a large crash and rocks falling behind him.

Six's Entry #3

August 13th 2552

I'm just sat in cave… seriously. I know it has been a little while but I have my reasons. After recon with Jun (Sounds like a TV show), Kat and I along with many, many Warthogs went head first into the Covenant forces. Needless to say our Warthog and many others got obliterated but we were otherwise ok. After destroying a couple of giant AA guns, I got onto a Falcon with Jorge and went to the spire. Its shield cut off our power and crashed the Falcon, only me and Jorge survived. I had the fun task of taking out its shield which wasn't a cake walk with the crap littering it (when I say crap, I mean Covenant). After that I had to leap off of the spire and onto the Falcon. I'd be dead right now if it wasn't for Jorge catching me… I guess I owe him my life now. Now I'm here waiting for Jorge and Jun to get here. Kat is talking to Carter and Emile… is just being Emile. I don't have a clue what we're going to do next especially with this super carrier in orbit (Oh yeah a super carrier showed up and destroyed one of our ships. Again Jorge sounded upset).

Despite the giant ship of death being above us, I'm more worried about Jorge. I've bonded with him more than the others and I'm worried that Reach is taking more of a toll on him than he's letting on.

They just got back so I'd best be off.

Six out.


	6. Insane Behind Bars

**It's that time again! **

**Now The prison in Amnesia is by far the scariest place in the game (for me anyway). It took me a long time to write this simply because I was too scared to venture further XD! Eventually though I did get through it and here we are with another chapter! **

**Enjoy and remember to never go into a castle... I know I won't.**

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**Chapter 6: Insane Behind Bars**

Jorge awoke an unknown amount of time later in a poorly lit room. Huge stone pillars supported the ceiling and behind him was now a rock slide instead of an elevator. In front was a barred door with rubble all around it and the screams of men could be heard inside. He questioned whether they were real as he took in the musty atmosphere. He took two steps before a familiar, blinding light overwhelmed his vision.

He was sat in a small cockpit as he looked out of the window to see stars and a glistening blue planet below him. He was in space and it was beautiful. Jorge could see another seat in front of him and familiar red armour sat within it. Before he could take in where he was, Six began to speak.

"I can't help but question this Jorge I mean… it is pretty risky."

"Do we have any other options? I would agree with you if we weren't backed into a corner by the Covenant and their enormous Super Carrier."

"I know but those slip space drives aren't exactly the most stable of devices. You heard Kat talk about that accident."

"I heard her but we have to defend Reach… I have to defend Reach." Six paused and gave a long sigh as Jorge stared longingly at the planet below.

"I'm sorry Jorge. I can't imagine what this must be doing to you."

"Am I meant to feel this Six?"

"Hmm?" She glanced back at him unsure of how to answer. "Feel what?"

"This pain. It's like she's in pain and I can feel it to. I question it only because we were always told to focus and that emotions were only a distraction from our true potential."

Six chuckled. "I don't know who told you that crap but I was never told that. Emotions are a natural thing, we are human after all. If anything, emotion is what drives us forward like what you're feeling now, it isn't pain, it's your passion to save her." Jorge smiled as a very slight tear came to his eye but he shrugged it off and kept his eye on the space station they were coming up towards.

He came back to himself, sat against one of the support pillars.

"Reach…" He began to whisper to himself. "It was my home planet, I know that now." He took another look at the grim door ahead of him and got up.

"I've gotten this far." He said before he slowly removed the mess of stone and ventured inside. He was only in there for a few seconds before he came running out due to a loud scream, some scraping metal and the alien-like noise he had heard several times in the Archives. He cowered on top of a lion statue for several minutes before he knew he would have to venture the prison whether he liked it or not.

The prison was damp. It had cold stone floors, walls and a ceiling that leaked. The darkness, though not as dark as storage, was still a force Jorge was struggling with and found himself using his lantern a lot more often if not all the time. There were some steps ahead of him but decided to search the left and right corridors first. The right yielded nothing but two tinderboxes but the left revealed something horrifying, the source of the unworldly noise. He saw a door with a lit torch that brightened up the entire corridor behind it. As he approached to take a look, a corpse was thrown against the door by a beast which had an appearance that showed Jorge a whole new level of fear.

Its head was split from the top of the skull to the bottom of its neck with everything in between being completely out of place. Its teeth were vertical up its face instead of horizontally across and it only had one eerie eye keeping a look out for any potential victims to its blade that replaced its left arm.

He backed away into a small cell with a lit candle. He sat by it trying to gather its warmth with his large hands but it was no use, not with armour this thick. He just felt the shivers of fear run through him as the room appeared to swirl in all directions. His sanity was wearing thin. Jorge, with some effort, heaved himself up off of the floor using the cold, stone wall for support and found a small hammer which he took with him. He held the lit lantern in one hand and guided himself back to the stairs. About half way up a chilling growl emanated in front of him as another monster walked round the corner. Jorge's eyes widened as adrenaline suddenly rushed through his body and his instincts told him that he was about to be chased. He ran back the way he came and out of the prison, unfortunately, Jorge forgot to turn off his lantern which made it easy for the monster to follow him. He leaped on top of the lion statue with expert agility. The monster just stood there… staring at him with its one good eye and the other hanging out of its socket. He soon noticed his lantern and turned it off but the monster already knew where he was and wouldn't leave. Jorge considered simply waiting it out but he knew the monster wasn't _that_ stupid. He then decided that he would have to make a run for it. He gathered his mental strength and attempted to jump off of the statue and back into the prison, but with his vision still unstable, he instead tripped and fell onto the monster. Both Jorge and the monster fell to the ground but Jorge was quick to get up realising that he had just angered it even more. As he tried to scrape to his feet, the monster grabbed his leg and tried to pull him back. The sound of metal scraping at the stone brick floor was all that could be heard as Jorge struggled to get free. Anger grew inside of him and began to replace his fear. A roar emanated from his helmet as he began kicking the monster in the face as hard as he could. It was forced to let go of him and he immediately ran for the dark safety of the prison. He almost leapt up the stairs tripping as he went and continued down a straight corridor picking up some oil on his way. He turned left and hid in the room ahead of him. Inside he found a chipper and picked it up despite not realising what it was for and waited for the footsteps of the monster to creep up on him but… they never came. It either must've lost him or gave up altogether. Despite the silence, Jorge still wasn't content that he was safe

"_Prisons never are."_ He thought to himself and began searching the other cells.

The first one he came across was locked but had a weak and corroded padlock. He thought for a good minute before realising that the hammer and chipper were a pair. It didn't take much for the lock to fall and inside was a barrel with a little oil for his lantern, a little oil that he desperately needed. The room was thankfully unlocked but had a much bigger surprise for him. As he walked in, the monster returned in the corridor behind him. Jorge kneeled down in the corner and to his shock; he forgot to close the door! A look of terror appeared on his face. A look that said 'How the fuck did I forget to close the door?!" and "Please don't come in here". Yet again the monsters IQ proved beneficial as it simply looked around and went back the way it came. Jorge wasted no time in using the monsters absence to venture the final room. Inside was a bed and a table with a candle placed upon it. He sat on the bed and looked down to his feet. Between them he noticed the blackness of a hole. Jorge heaved the bed to other side of the cell and noticed not just a hole, but an entire tunnel which was most likely used as an escape route by someone before him. It led to the northern prison block which was larger than the southern one. A few minutes of struggling through the tunnel with his bulky armour and he made it out the other side. It was the same cold, stone walls that greeted him but this time there were signs. One said 'Storage' and the other said 'Kitchen'. Memories of the previous storage area still haunted him but seemed certain that his luck would change and decided to head there first.

Jorge snuck round the darkened corridors and entered cell area 3. A torch was lit at the end and a chair was oddly placed in the middle of the corridor. He began to approach until a familiar silhouette crossed his eye. Its split head scarring his mind despite it not noticing Jorge in the slightest. It passed leaving Jorge reluctant to continue. Step by step he eased his way down the corridor until he came to two cells, one on each side of him. He entered the one on his right first and found a tinderbox next to a note. It details Daniel's rising guilt over his dead colleagues back in London and his own shame causes him to suffer from Insomnia. Jorge read the note thoroughly and then headed to the cell opposite. He places his hand on the door before a growl was heard from inside the cell. Jorge's curiosity forces him to peer inside only to see a disfigured face walking towards him. His startled body hurries back to the other cell and crouches in the corner with his eyes staring intently at the door. His world jumps as the monster begins to break down the door and move into the corridor. Jorge closed his eyes and hoped for his life that the monster wouldn't break down his door. Only now does it cross Jorge's mind that there might be more than one. Before he thought there was only one monster following him around but now he thought about there being multiple creatures and all of them are after him. The thought made him shudder until he remembered where he was and noticed that the monster was no longer there.

"How long was I in thought for?" He whispered as he studied the corridor for any signs of life before he moved closer to storage.

Down some small steps and Jorge finally made it to storage. It was nothing like the one before which was a huge area, this was just a single room. He picked up 4 tinderboxes, a pot of oil and a glass jar which he wasn't sure would be of any use to him. Nevertheless he took it anyway and left the room. The monster was never far away as it emerged at the other end of the corridor as Jorge was making his way back. He instinctively went back and hid in the corner of storage before he was sure it had left him alone.

"I'm beginning to get really fed up of those things." Jorge muttered as his temper and patience began to wear thin on both his body and mind.

His journey to the kitchen was like a gift for Jorge's perseverance. There were no monsters and no disruptions. He enjoyed it and even the odd cry and scream didn't seem to worry him. He entered the kitchen and began to look around. The first thing to catch his eye was another note. Daniel had arrived at Castle Brennenburg and was mesmerised by it. It seemed to wash away his worries whilst being unaware of the horrors that lay deep within its walls. Jorge felt sorry for him for ever coming here and it made him more hopeful of his own escape knowing that Daniel got out alive as well. He picked up some more oil and as he was about to venture the rest of the room, the monster returned and was heading towards the kitchen. Jorge dove behind a table but knocked over a couple of plates which made the monster more aware of his presence. It knocked down the wooden door with tremendous force and began to walk slowly into the room. Despite his noise, the creature still didn't find him and walked out of the room oblivious to Jorge's presence. Jorge got up and looked out of the door with a very confused expression before he got back to what he was doing. There were some more tinderboxes, a bottle of laudanum and a strange barrel of acid.

"A weapon!" He whispered with joy as he pulled out the glass jar that he found earlier and filled it carefully with the substance. He returned it to his backpack before leaving the kitchen to search for the exit.

He aimlessly wandered around for an eternity and the sheer tension was enough to bring Jorge close to breaking point. Every time he poked his head round a corner his heart stopped at the thought of something jumping out at him. The tunnels were seemingly endless until he came to a barred door with the exit behind it.

"I'm so close" He said. "I can't fall now." He got out the hammer and chipper and bashed the padlock but it wouldn't budge. He then sighed as he knew he would have to use another potential defence to open his escape. He carefully poured the acid onto the lock and it weakened, but not enough to open. As he picked up the hammer and chipper for another attempt, a growl sounded from behind him and sent him into a panic. He slammed the hammer down onto the lock and it broke free! The monster was closing in on him as he slammed the door behind him and bolted for the exit. The monster began to smash through the barred obstacle but to no avail as Jorge had already closed the exit never to return to the prison again.

Six's Entry #4

August 14th 2552

I don't know where to begin. I'm sure you remember Jorge, I've told you about him before. So far he has been my emotional rock, well, except for in the Sabre, he relaxed a little and was talking about his emotions, it's like we traded places for 20 minutes but anyway I'm getting off track. I guess I don't want to believe it. Something like this? How could I? He's gone. The slip space bomb timer wouldn't work on its own and it needed someone to set it off manually. 'Tell 'em to make it count' was the last thing he said to me… I should've said something back or tried to stop him but I just stood there… I let him pick me up and throw me out of his life forever. The despair I felt as I drifted down and the guilt I feel now as I sit helplessly, I can't take it! Why did you leave!? I'm so sorry! Please forgive me my friend… and if I had the guts… something more.

I miss you Jorge… please come back.


	7. Hydrophobia

**I know it's a bit late in the day but at least it's the right day and it's here now. I've had quite the horrific week, missing people who aren't in my life anymore. I'm sure a lot of you out there can relate or are feeling that same pain. My advice would be to listen to music and channel that pain into something creative like a writing a song or writing a story. Whoever it is your missing (assuming you are missing someone) I hope they're happy wherever they are and whoever they're with :)**

**Anyway I'll get back to the ff now, we're getting pretty far into this and I'm still not sure whether the ending should be good, bad, both or multiple endings in separate chapters. What do you think? Also I've got a Facebook page for all the fan fiction I write, just bare in mind I am just getting started with this whole thing so I don't have a lot of content yet. If you want to join anyway it's Arby's Fan Fiction! and I'll post every time there's a new chapter or even a new story! (Assuming I think of a new one of course).**

**Well I've said enough so I'll let you read on in peace. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 7: Hydrophobia**

His body shook and his mind was breaking. No longer was he the Jorge that he used to be. He was jumpy at the slightest sound and was hyper aware of his surroundings not out of being unfamiliar, but out of fear. The area was in a cylinder shape and had natural light beaming down from the top, something Jorge hadn't seen in a long time. There were doors and tunnels leading in every direction and a ladder that led to a platform above. The lever unfortunately was stuck and needed some kind of oil to loosen it. He first thought about his lantern but after the prison, he knew he would need every last drop and began to look for an alternative. A pipe near one of the tunnels was leaking oil. It was too thick for lantern use and therefore was perfect for fixing the lever. It worked like a charm and the lever loosened up.

Another problem occurred. The ladder still wouldn't come down because of a pipe blocking it. Jorge looked around but then decided old fashioned force would get it going. He brought the ladder down onto the pipe several times and eventually the pipe bent enough for the ladder to come down completely.

There were three doors, one on his left and right and the third in front of him. The two to his sides needed bridges to be lowered and he could see the two levers next to the door in front. The left bridge lowered with no fuss but the right bridge wouldn't work at all. There was nothing jamming it and the lever worked fine, it must've been the machinery. He went through the door and was in another control room.

Boxes were littered everywhere and there were multiple doors. The area felt warm for some reason but that didn't ease Jorge's mind much. Since it was the left lever not working, Jorge assumed that the machinery for it would be in the left door. He found three wheels and a discarded pipe which he threw into the corridor out of the way. He looked at the three weights hung up by chains and was clueless. He went to the right door to see if anything helpful was in there. Apart from another pipe which he again threw into the corridor, it was the same three wheels but the weights were in different positions. He copied the order and sure enough the machine rumbled into life. A small smirk appeared on his face but quickly disappeared. A heavy door was blocking the way and just like the gate in the Cellar Archives, it wouldn't stay open. He pulled it up as far as it would go and crawled underneath, using the pipes he found to keep it somewhat open. He dusted his hands and went through the second left door. There were two fallen pillars for some reason, which Jorge had to climb over before getting into the room. Inside were four levers and a large machine which seemed to be sticking out of the ground. He again clambered over the debris and into the right room where the same machine was not sticking out at all. He also found another discarded pipe, which was odd considering this was a control room, and a random wooden crank. After fiddling with it wondering what it was for, he put it in his backpack and returned to the left room. He played with the levers in a trial and error fashion before it rumbled as it hit the floor.

There was a third door which his curiosity couldn't let him ignore. As he approached the door, a woman's voice could be heard. It scared Jorge half to death as there was no one with him.

"So you must be Jorge? What on Earth are you doing?" was all she said before it was quiet once more. Jorge began looking around frantically until he noticed the door again and went inside.

The left wall had a bunch of holes while the right had pipes.

"Oh! The pipes!" He exclaimed as he retrieved the pipes and placed them on the empty wall. He had to fiddle around with the order but eventually got it right and a large cog wheel began to turn above him. His job in the control room was done and he swiftly began to leave. He turned the wheel to open the heavy door but as he did so, the wheel broke off.

"Son of a bitch!" He yelled in frustration as he threw the wheel to the floor. It felt good for him to let out his anger, it felt right, it felt…human. He sighed and looked through his backpack for anything useful. He found the wooden crank and despite his doubts he gave it a shot. The crank was placed where the wheel used to be and he turned it. The door opened normally allowing Jorge to leave the area but with one thought still in his mind, who was that woman and how did she know his name?

The natural light flooded him once more as he stepped out. He pulled on the lever and bridge began to descend. He sighed in relief until it stopped half way down.

"Fuck!" He yelled again getting infuriated with the castle's dodgy mechanics. In his sudden state of anger he found a rock and threw it at the bridge. It landed on top of it and the impact caused the bridge to fall down perfectly. Jorge's eyes widened realising his 'tantrum' fixed his problem. He stayed away from the 'odd bridge' as went in the other direction to the other door that led to the Cistern.

Jorge never knew what a Cistern was or what it was for but the sight of water made horrid memories of the water monster come screaming back to him.

"I-I'll be fine… I've just… got to stay out of the water." His voice trembled just as his body shook but he marched on nonetheless. A flash of white light made Jorge jump until he thought it was a vision from his past. It was actually a vision from Daniel's. Just like in the Archives except Jorge couldn't see where Daniel was, he could still see the Cistern. The vision came in handy and Jorge knew what he needed to do. The Cistern was for controlling the water in the spring which he assumed was his next location; why else would it be there? He continued walking until his path came to an end when some steps led into the water. He had no other way to go and was forced to enter the domain of his latest fear. He jumped in and ran the rest of the way to the steps opposite. He was breathing very heavily despite being in the water for only a few seconds. He clambered up the stairs and continued along his new path. It was broken up and old but Jorge did remember how to play hop scotch and jumped across the ledges. He could see a wheel which was nicely lit up by a single torch and went towards it. A pebble fell into the water next to him; he jumped quite a few feet in the air thinking it was the water monster. The water lay still afterwards and Jorge continued to the valve. A note lay next to it. It was written on the 7th August 1839 and explained how he and Alexander would begin to banish the orb's shadow in the Inner Sanctum. Jorge had his doubts and was certain something would go wrong. It all seemed too easy. He turned it and the entire Cistern shook as water was being diverted. It blew out Jorge's only light and he had to continue in darkness. The stone path ended yet again but the gap across to a different one was a lot larger than before. Jorge's fears wouldn't let him continue so he went back the way he came and went the other way around.

The winding path led to a wooden bridge which was being held up by a chain. He thought back to his stone throwing earlier and did the same thing to the chain. It went smoothly and the bridge fell down with no hassle. It caused a lot of noise which had Jorge even more worried about the water monster's presence. After some more hop scotch and balancing on a plank of wood, Jorge made it to the second valve which had another note sat next to it and a pot of oil behind a big box. The note was written the next day and Daniel was feeling confident that he was on the right path. He and Alexander tried to use the orb until the Shadow showed up unexpectedly. Alexander then told Daniel that he should prepare for a warding ritual which he felt far less confident about.

Jorge couldn't completely understand but he was sure that if there was a third note then that would wield some answers. He again turned the valve and the exact same thing happened. All that was left was to brave the water to the third valve and get out of here. Crossing to the farthest stone steps was surprisingly not an issue and there was no sign of the water monster anywhere around. Ahead of him were 3 steam vents, each producing steam at an alarming temperature. They would stop at regular intervals and Jorge had to time his movements perfectly to avoid getting burnt. He crossed them with no injury and switched off the steam valve on the other side. He moved forward to the water valve and as predicted found a third note. It was the 9th August 1839 and it was early in the morning. Daniel was beginning to question Alexander's true motives for helping him. He reflected on yesterday's events and realised that the orb was far more powerful than he first thought.

Jorge placed the note with the others as usual before he turned the last valve and began to head back to the water. Without thinking, he bolted across the water as fast as he could. He listened to his own splashes but they were disturbed by splashes that weren't his own. His breathing quickened and his heart pounded as something was chasing him. He made it to the other side but still kept running until he was out of the Cistern completely and not once did he look behind him.

He went straight forward across both bridges to the last door he had to venture. His behaviour was off as he didn't stop once as if he went from one door to another in one smooth movement. The door had no sign on it but Jorge didn't stop, little did he know that he was stepping into another dark secret of Castle Brennenburg, the Morgue.

The first room he found contained a lot of human bones from bodies that decomposed long ago. Jorge tried everything to ignore them and found a tinderbox and a copper pipe. He didn't care what it was for and just wanted to separate himself from those who had suffered death. The second and final room in the morgue was tidier but had a corpse lying on a table.

"I can hear you breathing Jorge, can you hear me?" she said to him.

"Who are you?" He asked but got no response. He wanted answers but for now had to be patient. His stomach began to turn at the sight but he turned his back and began to look around the shelves and desk. There were two tinderboxes, a bottle of laudanum and two notes; one which detailed a poisonous fungi in the sewer and the other which explained how a corpse with vaccinated blood can also be used to stop the poisoning of those who still live by injecting the blood into themselves. He put the notes in his backpacks and thought about what he just read. The penny didn't drop until Jorge remembered that he needed to go into the sewer and that there was a corpse next to him. His jaw dropped at the thought and his stomach churned more than ever. He had no choice. He couldn't be poisoned, not after getting so far. He wanted so badly to remember and he wanted to return home. He put down his backpack and began to pick out instruments that would be good for injection. He pulled out the hand drill, the copper tube and the hollow needle. He had no experience of finding veins in a human body so he went for where he knew there was blood, the skull. He drilled a small hole in the skull and blood began flowing out. He then put the copper pipe into the hole and put the needle onto the end to inject himself. He counted "1… 2…" before he pierced his skin and allowed the vaccinated blood to flow into him. Jorge waited a few seconds before he pulled himself away, shaking and breathing violently. He didn't have time to recover as a long bang came from the door and the alien noise came emanating from the other side. Jorge ran and hid in one of the rooms that had the pile of corpses. He chose the one without the water so that he would make less noise. All he could do now was sit and wait as the creature broke down the door and came inside. Its growls sounded different. It definitely wasn't the monster that had been chasing him so far, it was something different and much, much scarier. He slowly and quietly opened the door thankful there was nothing there. He took every step slowly making sure he couldn't hear any growls or any metal scraping. As soon as he saw the exit he ran for it, hoping to never see that creature again.

He went to the ladder and climbed back down it. He checked every door before he made his way down the tunnel to the sewers.

Dark, damp and deadly. Three words Jorge used a lot when describing the sewer. He knew there would be water and prepared himself mentally for it. Once he was at the bottom of the ladder, he carefully climbed in and stayed low, making little noise and making sure any attention wasn't on him. He crawled closer to some kind of machine turning in the water when a moan caught his attention. The split-head monstrosity appeared from the left and was walking to the right. It didn't notice Jorge, but Jorge noticed it and remained deadly still as his eyes were glued to the abomination. It passed and Jorge decided that in order to avoid it, he would have to go where it came from so he proceeded left.

He eventually came to a room with some very loud machinery. It was hurting Jorge's ears even under his helmet. He adjusted the two levers by putting them as far away from each other as possible so that the noise would become bearable. Apart from a barrel of oil, there was nothing else of use in the room and began to leave until another moan came from where Jorge was about to go. It was heading this way and Jorge shut the door and hid behind a large pipe. He could hear it get incredibly close to the door and he was certain it was going to knock it down, but it didn't. It just stood there for a minute and left. Maybe it had a similar I.Q to the previous monster or was it saving him for later? Jorge didn't want to dwell on it and make himself sick with fear so he just left the room and carefully made his way back to the rotating machine.

He observed it and realised that it was rotating slower than before but it was still impossible to pass under. The only unsearched area now was the tunnel that led right or_ 'the one where the monster_ _went'_ Jorge thought. To his surprise there was no monster and a dead end with nothing but a loose, thin pipe. He pulled on it only slightly and it dropped into the water. He wanted to think that he had some means of defence now but knowing his track record, he would have to use it to get past the machine. He made it with no sign of the creature anywhere but Jorge wouldn't allow himself to feel safe and worked quickly to put the pipe into place. It stopped firmly with a loud clang and Jorge was able to pass underneath it unharmed.

His jaw dropped when it was just another dead end. A door was to his right was the only other route but just like the other rooms, it was going to lead nowhere. A strong stench came from the room and upon opening the door, a horrific sight was revealed. The Shadow! Its pulsating tissue was all over the walls and one of the monsters lay dead in several pieces.

'_Did the Shadow do this?!'_ Jorge thought but then he stopped.

"Jorge! Turn around this instant! You are carrying the Shadow with you!" The woman said sternly and made Jorge jump but he had to ignore it as something else caught his attention. He thought nothing and didn't move. He could hear metal being torn apart and a moan echo through the tunnels. The creature had returned and this time it was going to break the door down. Jorge looked around frantically for a place to hide but had no choice except to go the back of the room and crouch amongst some flesh of the shadow. It was gruesome but it was better than dying. A few seconds later the door was no longer existent and the creature explored the room. All he could hear were its loud, deep groans and the metal of its joints screeching every time it moved. Jorge wasn't sure if it was ever human despite having human features. Just like the monsters before, it had arms, legs and a typical human body except one of its arms was replaced with large metal blade and its face… was it a face? It had a large vertical chunk missing down the middle with its teeth going up the sides and one lonely eye. It was far more intimidating than the monster before and its I.Q was greater, but not great enough. It didn't find Jorge in the back of the room and left, leaving Jorge with a new escape route. The barred gate that was originally a dead end had been destroyed by the monsters strength and Jorge could now pass through it.

He came to two paths; one left and one ahead. He could hear the groans of the creature once more but they weren't coming towards him and decided to move ahead very carefully to see if it was nearby. He approached a pipe at a corner and peered around then jumped back when he saw the monster stood stationary and blocking the exit. He looked again and was thankful that it had its back turned. It needed to be distracted in order for it to move so Jorge back tracked slightly and found a rock. He then threw the rock down the other path in a hope that the monster would investigate the noise it made. He crawled back to the pipe and grinned smugly as the exit was clear… but not for long. It must've noticed Jorge at the last second as he could hear it in pursuit of him. Every door he went through he slammed shut but each one was like paper to the beast and torn through in only a few seconds. Eventually a life line was thrown to Jorge in the form of a ladder which led out of the sewer. He leaped as high as he could and grabbed on with his life. The monster was forced to stop underneath him as the lack of one hand meant it couldn't climb. It growled at him in anger as if to say "You're not done yet" before it walked away slowly. Jorge then wasted no time in climbing the ladder until he was in the clear once again.

Six's Entry #5

August 23rd 2552

I'm just waiting for pick up. The view of a crashing Corvette I must say is rather enlightening despite the situation. I thought I would pass some time by writing in here. I know it's been a while but I just didn't want to think but since I am anyway I'll tell you. Jorge… that's right he's been on my mind a lot and I still miss him horribly. Of course I don't show it to anyone, I'm a Spartan… incapable of emotion… only capable of war.

I remember what Jorge was talking about back in the Sabre, about how emotion was just a distraction. I'm beginning to understand why they told him that. I have barely focused fully on anything since the accident and have nearly been seriously hurt by a brute chieftain and a couple of Wraiths. Needless to say, him not being here has hit me harder than I thought and I have no idea if I will ever be the same again.

I see a Pelican approaching so I had better go back to being a robot I guess.


	8. Broken Minded, Black Hearted

**Well I'm awake far earlier than I should be... -.-' So I thought I would get this chapter out early instead of being like last week where it was dark before I uploaded it. I think I've got an ending for it now! (Unless it's like the first time where I had it, looked at it again and re-wrote the whole thing). I won't spoil it and instead give you chapter 8. Also for those who have read The Prophecy, (my first fan fiction) there maybe someone in here you recognise ;D Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 8: Broken Minded, Black Hearted**

Jorge was exhausted. His armour was still wet and the creature chasing him had taken its toll. Surrounding him were four doors; one wouldn't open, the second was a dead end, the third led to two levers that wouldn't work with an oil barrel, a tinderbox and a note and the fourth led to a spiral staircase which Jorge explored last. Jorge sat on the floor and read the note. Daniel had been traumatised because he was forced to kill a man. He was a murderer just like the guy he killed and it was to lead the Shadow away and give Daniel more time to fight back. He couldn't argue because Alexander was saving him. Jorge questioned whether it was right. The man was a killer after all… did that make it ok or did Daniel just drop to his level? There was a moral war in Jorge's head for a minute or two until he went to the staircase and ventured down. He came to a large room, well lit with candles. As he came down the wooden steps he found a pot of oil and could hear machinery above him. He lifted the hatch and found one cog out of place. It fit in smoothly with the others and began to turn. Back upstairs, Jorge tried the levers again and they were both functioning perfectly. They each opened a heavy door; one way led to the Choir and the other led to the Transept. As he went back down, the woman's voice began to speak to him again.

"Jorge, you have gone too far. I have to stop you. I can't let you proceed any further." Jorge quivered and a chill went down his spine. Can a voice really hurt him? If she could stop him, how would she do it? He felt small and hopeless and even a little run down. It was clear that everything was against him, the monsters, this voice… he just wanted a friend or at least someone to give him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. This was the loneliest he'd felt ever since this journey began.

He re-entered the room and noticed a corpse chained up on a wall.

"What that there before?" He said to himself and walked towards it slowly. As it turned out, the 'corpse' wasn't dead and looked up at Jorge. He jumped back thinking immediately about a zombie apocalypse and thinking it would eat him. He stopped freaking out when it began to speak with its weak, wheezing voice.

"Help me." It struggled. "Pull the switch." Jorge did as instructed and its voice was amplified making it much easier for him to speak and for Jorge to hear.

"Thank you. You have my gratitude." Jorge still seemed worried. Who was this guy? Was he friend or foe?

"My name is Agrippa. Who might you be?"

"Uh… Jorge." He said dryly.

"Jorge? Like the prophets thrown into the lion's den." He laughed but Jorge didn't understand what he meant.

"Tell me; are you among the lions Jorge?"

"I am looking for the Inner Sanctum. I need to find some orbs." Jorge spoke in a monotone voice partly because he didn't know this guy and partly because he didn't trust him.

"I hate to break it to you Jorge but you need an orb to get into the Inner Sanctum." Jorge's heart sank but rose again when Agrippa continued.

"I know where there is one, however it is in six pieces and you will have to put it back together. It used to be my orb."

"That's good enough… I guess. Where are they?"

"I believe they are being used for torture now. They practically leak madness which is quite useful I understand." Jorge nodded.

"Look around the Choir and the Transept. You should be able to find them there." He nodded again and began his search. Just as he was about to go right, Agrippa spoke again.

"Jorge, I hate to bother you further but… would you consider taking me with you?"

"What?" Jorge responded.

"I know it sounds ridiculous-I mean look at me, but if you find anything concerning a man named Johann Weyer, would you please bring it to me?" Agrippa continued. "I believe he was working on a way to help me. A recipe for some sort of potion- a tonic to free me from this husk of mine."

Jorge struggled to believe it. It all seemed so farfetched but then he thought about his situation. He was brought to a castle that he had never been to before, had gone back in time and remembered nothing of his past. He agreed to look around but still kept his priority of recovering the orb pieces. Just before the Choir, he found a door which led to a small study. He found two tinderboxes and some laudanum. He also found a note which upon reading it, he discovered it concerned Johann Weyer, the man Agrippa was talking about. He put it in his backpack separate from the other notes and decided to show it to Agrippa on his way back, now however, he proceeded to the Choir.

After walking through the entrance way, he came to the main hall which had an eerie red glow about it. Above him were pipes which had the screams of people travelling through them. It was unnerving but Jorge followed the same rules of staying low and keeping quiet.

"What are my intentions Jorge?" The woman spoke again.

"Salvation. It used to be yours, but now you only seek misplaced revenge. How do you justify your violence? Is it for the greater good? Are you providing the world a service?" Jorge grew more and more confused but continued to listen.

"Stop at once! It is curiosity in league with your selfishness that is killing us both!"

"What the fuck?" was all Jorge said before he continued on. He decided to go right first but as he approached a bridge a familiar groan echoed from behind him. His crawling pace suddenly quickened and the creature was heading his way. He hid behind a large pillar and allowed it to pass. He then continued right, down a smaller path that led to one of the torture rooms. This one had a torture wheel although Jorge wasn't sure what it was for.

"Ignorance is bliss." He whispered and picked up a piece of the orb which lay next to the wheel. There were odd noises coming from all around. It would be hard to tell if there was a monster nearby which terrified Jorge but he knew it was in here somewhere… still hunting him. He was cut off from his thoughts when he found the second torture room. Before he went inside, he noticed a green plant and opened it up. Inside was a poison gland, one of the ingredients needed for Weyer's tonic. Jorge went through the door and noticed an odd iron bull simply standing there. A pipe was coming out of its mouth, the same pipe that was used for torture screams. Jorge knew it was for torture just like the wheel but was happy he didn't know exactly how it worked and found the next piece of orb. He tried to put it with the first one but they wouldn't fit together.

"Finding the other four pieces would be the best idea I guess." He said to himself and went back the way he came. Since this way was now a dead end, Jorge had no choice but to return to the entrance and head left from there but the creature had other ideas. Its groan sounded from behind him but Jorge didn't realise and nearly ran into it but dove behind a pillar just in time. He was shaking but suddenly stiffened up when out of the corner of his eye, the creature slowly walked past him. It was a miracle that he wasn't spotted and used this chance to return to the entrance. He continued down the path and eventually found the third torture room. This one had a torture tool that even made Jorge feel nervous, the Iron Maiden. A coffin like device with spikes lining the insides which puncture the victims skin giving them a slow and painful death. Jorge had never seen one before and wanted to look inside. Maybe there was the odd tinderbox or even better a pot of oil. To Jorge's horror, there was neither of those and instead a strange pink mist came from it and made a very loud noise which scared Jorge so much that he grabbed the piece of orb, tripped over, got up and ran to the door. He slammed it behind him and for the first time, he began to cry. All the fear, anger, sadness and pain was all being let out as he broke down in front of the torture room. His mind had finally broken but it felt good to finally let it all out even if it was in a horrible place. Certain that his cries of despair would attract attention, Jorge forced himself to calm down enough to make it out of the choir.

He was back in the Nave and returned to Agrippa to show him the note.

"Incredible! You found Weyer's recipe. Then there might still be a chance." Jorge didn't react to the praise. Tears still ran down his face but Agrippa couldn't see them and Jorge remained quiet.

"Listen carefully, Aurora is working on opening a gate- a door to another world, it's where she wants to go."

"Who's Aurora?" Jorge asked.

"She is the one in the Inner Sanctum. She has the orbs." Jorge didn't answer and allowed Agrippa to continue.

"You must have patience. Allow her to open the gate and whilst holding my head, jump through the portal. You will go where you want to go and I will go where I want to go. Do you understand?" Jorge nodded.

"Please, find the ingredients and prepare the tonic Weyer describes… and do so before you assemble the orb. The barrier keeping you from the Inner Sanctum will only be beached for a short time. Unless everything is taken care of before mending the orb, you won't be able to save me."

He went down the other path leaving Agrippa alone once again. He found another room before the Transept with a well. He could hear the noises of the water monster coming from below and Jorge didn't want to stick around in case it somehow leaped out of the well and devoured him.

The Transept was a very open place with cages hanging from the ceiling, thankfully with nothing in them and three corridors, one for each torture room and a spiral staircase in the middle. Figuring that there would be an orb piece in each room, Jorge decided that he would go up the stairs to begin with. He found a tinderbox, a pot of oil, a note explaining how to torture someone and an odd piece of string which Jorge tied to the glass jar he still had. He then went back down and searched the torture room beginning with the one on the left.

It had some handcuffs tied from the ceiling and a weight which was tied to the ankles. A drawing was hung on the wall of it being used. Oddly Jorge didn't react; he just looked at it, found the piece of orb in a closet and left for the second room.

A small pyramid was seen stood on a wooden tripod. Jorge found the piece of orb amongst some sacks in the corner. The pyramid was an impaler and the victim would be lowered onto it until it pierced the stomach. Jorge even touched the tip with his finger but still no reaction occurred on his face or in his mind and he left for the third and final torture room.

He could hear sawing in the room ahead of him. Was there someone in there? He didn't know how he would react if he saw someone being tortured in front of him. Thankfully however, the room was empty and Jorge placed the noises on his own sanity. He picked up the 6th orb piece amongst some piles of rope before he studied the device. The victim is hung upside down and sawn in half. Jorge cringed a little but still his broken mind was not affected. He looked at the pool of blood underneath a grate and used the stringed glass jar to retrieve some of it remembering it was part of the tonic Agrippa needed. He took another look at the device and headed for the exit.

Agrippa greeted him as soon as Jorge entered the main room of the Nave.

"I see you have all the orb pieces you need. I know I have no right to ask anything of you, but if you can find it in your heart to gather the ingredients for Weyer's tonic before proceeding to mend the orb… there might still be a chance for you to save me. Please my fate is in your hands." Jorge said nothing and began to explore the second room of the Nave. It was all prison cells for those who awaited torture. He found a fresh piece of meat on one of the tables and wondered what in the world he would need that for? He studied Weyer's note once again to check the third ingredient.

"I believe it is the secretion in the water dwelling Kaernk" he read out loud and remembered the well. He took the meat and lowered it to the water monster which now had a strange, unworldly name. It took hold of the meat with a lot of force and the rope wouldn't pull back up until it let it go. Eventually nothing but the bone remained and Jorge was able to retrieve it. He wasn't sure what to do with the three ingredients now that he had them so he just left them in his backpack and headed for the Chancel, figuring he would probably work it out later.

He approached a door and suddenly felt very uncomfortable. His breathing slowed down and his heart rate did as well. He wanted to return to the Nave but the door was mysteriously locked. He returned to the door and walked slowly out of it. His instincts told him to look right, only to see death in the form of six monsters marching towards him defiantly. He didn't even get the chance to turn before all six of them were on him and Jorge was knocked out by one blow of its ferocious claws.

Six's Entry #6

August 23rd 2552

Waiting for pick-up again. I'm not in the mood for any light-heartedness so I will just come right out and say it. Kat is dead. It came out of nowhere literally. A Phantom (Which I swear to god was silent) was hovering overhead and it had a Jackal sniper aiming out of the side. It took one shot and that was it. As quick as it came, the Phantom left us to deal with the broken pieces.

At the moment, everyone is just sat down. Emile and Jun are talking quietly while Carter… he's sat with Kat. His silence is cold but I can't blame him. Just from glancing over to him I can see that he is already different because of this. He's distant and blurred when he is usually so focused and alert. I can't help but wonder who will be next. Me and Carter probably feel so empty that I'm guessing that it will probably be one of us. I know it sounds harsh but come on, if reality has taught me anything lately it is that fairness and a sugar coating don't exist, especially during a war.

Hope to talk again soon but I have a gut feeling that things will get worse before they get better.


	9. Sacrificial Sanity

**Chapter 9 is here! My week has been... depressing to say the least, but today was eventful when Sage's heat lamp broke, I shall simply say that the nearest pet shop isn't exactly on our doorstep. He's fine now with his new one (Not cheap by the way). I would also like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has stuck by me and given this fan fiction a lot of support! Thanks for reading, every view means the world to me! ^.^**

**So without further ado, here's chapter 9! Enjoy! :3**

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**Chapter 9: Sacrificial Sanity **

He awoke some time later and found himself in a prison cell. In front of him stood one of the monsters… watching him. It was unnerving but Jorge simply glared at it but it couldn't see underneath his dirty visor. It left after a few minutes leaving Jorge alone to think of an escape.

"You had me worried. Quite frankly I'm not sure what to do with you." The woman's voice returned. "I hold no grudge against you Jorge. We are both very much the same you and I." Jorge grew frustrated at her patronising voice. "Did you really come here all the way from Reach?" He perked up, wondering how in the world she knew about his home. "You talked about trying to remember not only your home but… her as well."

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Jorge yelled in anger as emotion started to come back to him.

"You shall wait here and take on the Shadow yourself. Thank you."

A time bomb went off in his head and he punched the brick wall next to him in rage. His actions were halted when half the wall was knocked over and he could get into the cell next to him. He tried the door and this one was open. This was his way out of the cell but not out of the block and this time he had to look for a key. There were many useful items in each of the cells and even one of the bars of his own cell broke off which could be used as a weapon, but just like the times before, he knew he would have to use it for something. One of the cells contained a note from a previous prisoner who, after years of living in this dungeon, had almost thought of his cell as his safe haven where no one could hurt him. "He claims that Alexander had done this to him… the same guy that drove Daniel to torture" Jorge began. "Whoever this guy was… he must've been an awful man." Before Jorge put the note away and went into the next cell only to see a familiar white glow flood his vision. It had been a while but another vision of his past was about to begin.

"Well, I've got good news and bad news. This bird took some fire and her thrusters are toast which means the only way off this slag heap is gravity."

"And the good news?" Six replied.

"That was the good news." He said dryly.

"At current velocity, 53 seconds to entry point-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He interrupted. "Bad news is timer's fried. I'm gonna have to set it off manually."

"What?" Six's voice took on a very worried tone. "But… that's a one way trip."

"We all make it sooner or later." He replied in a much softer, gentler voice. "Better get going Six they're gonna need you down there." She took off her helmet and tears were clear on her face.

"Listen, Reach has been good to me. Time has come to return the favour. Don't deny me this."

"No Jorge please!" Six begged but Jorge knew what he had to do and put Six's helmet back on then carried her to the edge of the ship. Tears came to Jorge's eyes as well but he didn't show it.

"Tell 'em to make it count." He said before he threw her down to the planet below.

"Jorge!" Six screamed, begging her close friend not to leave her but it was too late and his mind was made up.

He returned. Suddenly, a corpse appeared right in front of him. Where it came from is something he'll never know. He quickly pulled off his helmet and vomited in a corner. A sudden nausea had come over him which his stomach couldn't take. Jorge felt awful and sat down by the well in the centre of the room. He looked into his visor just as he did in the Wine Cellar and he could barely recognise himself from before. His eyes seemed colourless and his hair had turned vastly greyer. The biggest difference Jorge noticed was his skin and how pale he looked. He could only compare himself to a ghost and he could see now that this castle had taken much more of a toll on him than he ever thought. A few minutes of breathing in and out deeply allowed Jorge to feel stable enough to get up and walk towards a pipe next to the locked exit. He studied the note again and it said one of the guards dropped a key down the pipe. He squinted his eyes and saw a rusted key amongst its rusted surroundings. He took out the bar he pulled from his cell earlier and wedged it into the gap. With a bit of effort, Jorge used the bar to nudge the key out of the other end of the pipe and onto the floor. He picked up the key and tried to get the bar back but it was wedged in. He sighed and then checked the final cell to find a random wooden bucket which he filled with water in the well and headed out of the exit.

He took a couple of steps before a deafening boom was heard from behind him. It wasn't something he had heard before so he knew it wasn't one of the previous monsters. An unusual red aura caused Jorge to turn his head, whatever it was, was getting closer. A door was blocked by debris but just like the door in the Wine Cellar, he was able to move it and get through the door. It was making the same noises as the Shadow, the same roars that had been following Jorge since he first awoke. He came to a fork and turned right only to see it cut off by a rock slide so he back tracked and went left. He then came to a hallway flooded with water. He dove in and waded through it as fast as his legs could go but he was still heavily slowed down and the Shadow easily caught up with him. He felt as if fear itself was chasing him for his crimes, but what crimes? He couldn't remember his past and wondered if he had done something unforgivable. Jorge gained some more distance once he was out of the water and made it back up to the Nave with time to spare.

Jorge was out of breath, more than usual and went to a table with a note on it. As soon as he picked it up, his mind gave way and he collapsed unconscious. Out of nowhere, Daniel began to speak.

"18th of August 1839,

Tonight we will unlock the power of the orb and ultimately banish the Shadow hunting me. I feel it closing in on me and I fear for my life more than ever.

Just outside Altstadt, lies a small settlement where Zimmermann, a dairy farmer, lives with his wife and three children.

We took the coach and went there. Our visit was unexpected and Alexander was able to strike Herr Zimmermann down without alerting the others. As he went and took care of the farm hands, I began to look for the children.

We should have more than enough prisoners to finish the ritual now."

Jorge awoke some time later to find his head pounding and his hands shaking.

"Daniel… you bastard." He whispered in a state of shock wondering how someone who used to be so innocent…turn into such a monster. He slowly walked back to Agrippa to see if he was alright. There was evidence of the Shadow everywhere and it even roared occasionally but Jorge didn't react at all. Jorge noticed a door that was previously blocked, had been torn off of its hinges. It led to the Laboratory which Jorge then remembered could be used to make Weyer's tonic.

He first put the jar of blood onto a burner and boiled the blood. Once boiled, he put the jar under an outlet and crushed the bone the water monster had left, the remains then mixed with the blood. The last step was to crush the poison gland from the plant in the Choir. This poison would be the paralyzer in the tonic and with that, it was complete. It didn't take long for Jorge to reunite with Agrippa.

"Jorge, I thought I'd lost you. The castle trembled and I could hear the Chancel collapse."

Jorge only nodded as he approached Agrippa. He told Jorge to find some kind of sawing tool. It would be needed to cut off Agrippa's head. As the tonic works, he would be able to remove his head without taking his life. Jorge did just that and found a saw in a now accessible room. After a grim series of squelching and crunches from the flesh and bone being sawn, his head was successfully removed. He put his head in his backpack to keep it hidden and then returned to the Chancel. The path to the right door had indeed collapsed leaving only the left and forward paths available, he searched right to begin with. There was a tinderbox; a container filled with tar which Jorge thought would be perfect for repairing the orb and a note written by Daniel. The guilt of his crimes had finally set in and Daniel now realised what he had become, 'A cold-blooded murderer.'

Jorge found a smaller room with working machinery and the noise infuriated Jorge for reasons he did not know. He roared at it and gave it a heavy punch which caused it to stop working altogether. He thought he might have broken something he shouldn't have but the peace and quiet soothed Jorge's soul and he went to the only other room in the Chancel. There were no monsters around which Jorge found odd since there were six that ambushed him earlier and he even heard another split-headed beast patrolling the walkways.

He shut the door behind him so he could work in piece. An oddly futuristic energy shield was blocking the door to the Inner Sanctum and Jorge assumed it was the orb inside that was creating it. He lined a stone bowl with the tar he found and began placing the pieces of the broken orb. They merged together like magic and Jorge couldn't believe how perfect it looked once it was fully mended. He turned to the shield to see it reacting to the orb. Once it made contact, a boom caused the Chancel to shake again nearly knocking Jorge off his feet. The door was now accessible and Jorge entered leaving nothing but the Chancel behind.

No time to stop as the Shadow was hot on Jorge's tail. He ran straight down the stairs and pulled a lever which shut a heavy door behind him. It wasn't much but Jorge now had some time to figure out how to open the door to the Orb Chamber. He first went left and immediately found one more note from Daniel. He was upset, very upset as he looked back on everything he had done. The murders, the torture… what was it all for. Just to save one life? He wished that the Shadow had caught him back in Algeria. It was all this that sparked Daniel's anger and caused him to kill Alexander which in turn freed him from the Shadow. Despite Daniel's wrongs, Jorge was somewhat glad that he got out alive and wanted a similar fate for himself. He still wanted to remember it all despite his heavily scarred mind.

He put the note away and sighed deeply. There was something on the table to the left of him, a kind of sharp object and a small container for collecting blood. Jorge looked behind him to see a pentagram on the floor. He wasn't entirely sure what do with it but tried nonetheless to figure it out. He pulled off the glove of his armour and cut his finger, allowing the blood to drop to the table. His eyes went red and assumed he was doing it right. He then stood in the middle of the pentagram until the sanctum rumbled. His head was hurting badly so he quickly went into the room opposite and did the same thing. His mind broke and Jorge fell to the floor as the Shadow roared at him again. A high pitched noise echoed in his skull causing him to grip his head in pain. It lasted a few minutes before fading at which point Jorge got up and clambered over the newly formed Shadow to get to the door of the Orb Chamber. He drank a lot of laudanum to heal his wounds from the Shadow's flesh before he ventured inside.

"It's all or nothing now." He growled.

"I was wondering if you were going to show up" Jorge was greeted by the same feminine voice as he entered only this time he could see who it was coming from.

"I see Agrippa convinced you to run some errands. Tell me, is everything nice and clear now? Am I the villain?" Jorge for the moment had no energy to speak and only listened to what Aurora had to say.

"Good and evil. Such comforting concepts- but hardly applicable. Are you so blind that you see no good in me? Or evil in Agrippa?" She stopped and nodded towards Jorge. He spoke.

"You must be Aurora." He started.

"Yes and you are Jorge." She replied.

"I assume you know why I am here?"

"You are correct. I've seen the hell you have been through and I salute you for making it here alive. You went through all that just to get your memories back?"

He nodded. "Not just those, I also wish to be returned home to Reach." Aurora giggled but then her expression grew more serious.

"You and I are not all that different. We are both in an unfamiliar world and we both wish to return where we are, or in my case, _were_ welcomed. You have done well Jorge and it still doesn't pain me to say this but your journey is not over yet." Jorge's eyes widened but then calmed and he fell to his hands and knees.

"Please… I'm exhausted. Please allow me to go home… allow me to remember. I don't know what I did to end up here. What did I do to deserve this hell?" Tears formed in his eyes. The exhaustion, the hunger, the lack of sleep and the insanity was all becoming too much for him until Aurora spoke again.

"There is one more trial you must go through. I will of course heal your mind and body before I send you there but only because this trial could destroy your mind and I warn you now you may be but a shadow of your former self _if_ you make it out alive." Jorge didn't cry, he didn't yell, he didn't do anything. He just got up and stared at her as he took off his helmet.

"Why should I do this?" He asked.

"Because once you are there you will remember everything of your life and those memories will motivate you to escape." A determined look appeared on Jorge's face and he nodded, accepting Aurora's trial.

"Assuming you get out, you will be returned to me and I will then set up another portal which will send you back to Reach on August 30th 2552. Do you understand?"

He nodded once more and placed his helmet back over his head. A portal appeared in the centre of the room which Jorge jumped through, sending him to his worst nightmare.

Six's Entry #7

August 30th 2552

Well, it has come down to this, me. I am the only one left. I can't comprehend all of this, how I am the only survivor when I was certain it would be someone else? I was certain my carelessness would've gotten me killed but everyone else perished before me.

Jorge… the first to go. He sacrificed himself for us, for his planet but what he didn't know was that it was all in vain. As I write here now, an entire Covenant fleet is in orbit and there is infantry obliterating any chance I have of escape or survival.

Kat was the next one to fall but she was kind of lucky with one swift shot to the head. It would've been instant and painless, for her anyway but Carter… he wasn't the same afterwards. He seemed distant and lost without her. Maybe the rumours I've heard about them were true but now isn't the time for that.

It almost doesn't surprise me that Carter fell next. Part of me thinks he wanted to but the other part thinks that he's not that kind of guy. Long story short a scarab was in our way and he disposed of it using his Pelican. Need I say more? Emile's reaction well… he didn't really have one but then again he rarely reacts to anything.

Last but not least, Emile. An elite zealot got him with its energy sword. He didn't go out without a fight. Using the good Noble team spirit he took the bastard with him. I wonder even now if he felt anything. Anger? Pain? Sadness? Fear? I can't answer any of them and I will never be able to.

Right now it's only me. I'm not entirely sure what happened to the Pillar of Autumn I assumed that it must've fled but I didn't want to stick around and watch. There was a Covenant cruiser but I destroyed it, giving the Autumn all the time in the world to get ready to leave. You want to know why I'm not on it huh? Well, I saw my whole team die here, except for Jun who went off with Halsey on another Pelican a while ago. Other than that I don't know where he is or what has become of him. Anyway they all died here and I just wouldn't feel right if I up and left, it would be like abandoning them here and I don't leave anyone behind, especially when I've gotten to know them so well. They were my friends and as far as I am concerned, I am going with them unless some miracle purpose comes out of nowhere and gives me a new reason to live? No… I am going down fighting on this planet just like the others.

This will be the last you hear from me.

Tell them to make it count.

Noble Six out.


End file.
